USD Website
The redesign of the USD website has spanned over 3 years and included the sites of the academic areas, Admissions, and Student Life. For all designs generated via this process please see the Designs section.
For all projects, Information Technology Services have worked with design firm of CoLab. Design materials have then been handed over for development and roll-out by the internal Web team. The current phase of the project encompasses a new design for the main USD website as well as a template for departments throughout the university. The following has been the process from start to finish.
- Research and Discovery
- Information Architecture
- Concept/Design Development
- Technical Development
- Content Development
- Training
- Launch
Research/Discovery | January - February 2010
The first step of the website redesign project was a period of research and discovery to assess 1) both strengths and weaknesses of the current USD site and 2) look toward the future priorities of a new website. Using the services of CoLab the following milestones were reached:
- Focus groups with high schools students
- Individual focus group with each vice president
- Focus group with select university directors and managers
- Campus-wide survey garnering 1,500 responses
These findings were basis for our later decisions regarding site architecture, navigation and design in a way that was heavily influenced by USD's mission and core values.
Information Architecture | March 2010 - April 2010
From the research and discovery period emerged the core goals and objectives of the new website. A redesign committee was formed to make high-level decisions on behalf of their division. The new site will be a resource for prospective students while continuing to serve other community members.
Visual appearance, although important, is only one aspect of design. The utility of the site (how well it functions) and its usability (how effectively users can navigate it) are also key factors.
The current architecture and design dates back to 2004 when the site was last redesigned. The outdated design does not serve the university's needs and the needs or perspective students. As such, the "business hierarchy" of the website must be removed and move toward a more user-centric and visitor-friendly form of navigating to areas of interest and information. All offices and departments are accessible via the Directory section of the new site.
| Current Information Architecture | New Approved Information Architecture |
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Concept/Design Development | July - October 2010
Once the new structure of the website was established, the project moved into the design phase. A design committee was formed to work with CoLab and review designs for various levels of the new site: USD home page, landing pages, content pages, and department sites. The USD home page is place to spotlight feature stories that tie back to USD's core values, and the page itself serves as a portal to information about the admissions process, academic programs, and student experience. To enhance the visual impact of the site, the design team specifically worked toward including more graphic and media elements in the new site.
The committee consisted of representatives from the three core areas who manage different areas of the university's website: Information Technology Services (technology), Public Affairs (content), and Marketing and Strategic Parternships (branding).
The project is part of an effort toward integrated marketing and branding in which different entities on campus will all have a similar look and feel, making the website instantly identifiable as belonging to USD. The core website will be consistent and complementary to the academic units whose designs are now unified through the main site.
Technical Development | August 2010 - December 2010
As with all design projects handled by CoLab the photoshop files produced during the design phase were handed over to the Information Technology Services web team for development. The utility of the site (how well it functions) and its usability (how effectively users can navigate it) were also key factors in our redesign endeavor, and these were initiatives carried out by the web team in building the new site.
Content Development | July 2010 - December 2010
Meanwhile a content committee was formed to address all content issues with the new website including the review of existing content and the creation of content for all pages. Included in this process is creative direction for visual appeal on pages as well as professional photo shoots for the new home page and university leadership.
Training
Content transition and content fill are facilitated through the use of Adobe Contribute software, which is the university's current web maintenance platform. Maintainers are identified in conjunction with the department overseeing the area of website, whether the core site or a departmental site. Training is provided by Information Technology Services staff through the IT Training program.
Launch
The redesign of the main site is being handled in two phases:
Phase I: Launch of the core site, 4 department sites (President, Provost, Giving, and Copley Library), a new Google-driven campus map, and a new News Center.
Phase II: The transition of all non-academic sites into the new design. This process is expected to last 12 months between January 2011 and December 2011. Information about the timing for your department will be forthcoming on this website. To review the transition process, please see the Process section.
Quarterly surveys are planned to guage responsiveness to the new site and suggestions for improvements.
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