Developed a multifaceted, high-profile site to communicate a university’s commitment to and resources for its institutional movement toward greater diversity and inclusion. The client came to us requesting a website that would change the culture of the institution. Realizing that the creation of a website alone could not do this, we helped the client articulate the specific needs behind this request and identify realistic and sustainable communications tools to help achieve broader goals.

Roles: Project lead, researcher, analyst, strategist, creative director, project manager, information designer, interactive designer, interface designer and usability tester

Team: Writer/editor, UI designer, web developer

Directed the development of the visual branding, title, tagline and messaging points.

Co-designed and co-led collaborative information-gathering sessions with client and design team to elicit client goals and audience needs.

Focused and guided conversations by synthesizing data and diagramming frameworks that facilitated a shift in the client from an administrative, single-medium 
perspective to one that embraces a user-centered experience across touch points.

Developed a holistic understanding of a complex situation and opened opportunities for innovative, multifaceted, sustainable solutions. The team determined that it was necessary to start with the creation of a brand identity and an informational website to clearly establish Princeton’s philosophy and commitment related to diversity and inclusion.

Developed the messaging and content framework to guide the information architecture and labeling of content in a way that would resonate with the intended audiences.

Identified existing and new content needed to convey a complete and convincing picture of Princeton’s commitment. 

Wireframed page structures to establish necessary content types and pathways, and define the interface elements to be designed. To create a site that could be maintained with limited resources and that would provide evidence of Princeton’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, I designed a module to allow news content to be tagged and pulled into relevant topic pages.

Developed a consistent visual language that is intuitive, accessible and supports the visual brand. 

Designed responsive layouts for tablet and phone.

Oversaw the web developer in the implementation of the site design in Drupal, ensuring consistency (and graceful degradation) of the look and feel, accessibility and overall user-experience across browsers and devices.

Created and conducted user tests to determine the effectiveness of the interface design, clarity of the organization and quality of the content for the intended audiences. Made iterative adjustments as necessary.

Received praise from the team, the client and the end users. The team members expressed appreciation for the collaborative process and for being given a voice in the direction and design from the beginning. The client commended us for framing this complex and political subject in a clear and compelling way for varied audiences. And many end users expressed their delight at the bright and inviting visual presentation, the clear and intuitive organization of information and the authentic tone of the content.