Case Study: Education Department Website
West Coast Baptist College
This project was an in-house cross-departmental collaborative design effort led by myself for the four-fold purpose of improving communication and interactivity between administration and faculty, between faculty within the department, between faculty and students currently enrolled in Education programs, and between the department and prospective students. This resulted in a website design with a focused and intentional funnel for several user groups and driven by the findings of original research of actual users.
CLient
West Coast Baptist College
In-house design project
Deliverables
- Faculty survey research
- Color scheme and branding
- Interface wireframes and sitemap
- Website presentation for leadership
The Design Problem
User Research
Research was conducted in three groups of users—administration, faculty, and currently enrolled students to provide a data-driven framework and approach to the information architecture and interface design needed to accomplish the goal of improving communication across all areas of the department. Surveys, content analyses, card sorts, and usability studies were conducted to provide the data for the research component.


Fig. 1. Overall website satisfaction rating shows positive reaction by faculty.

Fig. 2. Education Department area of website shows lower average in ratings when compared against the institution’s website at large.
Low-fidelity Wireframes and Sitemap
The navigation and structure of the website are designed to pull the user through the pages ultimately toward starting the application process. The wireframes demonstrate the proposed layout design for the majority of the pages. The navigational design and overall flow of the website are intended to advance the user through the pieces of information in which he is interested and ultimately toward the call to action—summiting an application. The content fits with the research and conclusions made previously and presents ease of access for the user.

Color Scheme and Branding


Website UI/UX
The home page is the key to capturing in the viewers attention, most effectively in under just a few seconds. The home page is designed toward the broadest audience, with links to more specific information targeting particular groups of users. All of the critical content identified in the research above is included or represented on the home page for the highest potential engagement.