Small Projects

In between our larger projects we often have 5-10 smaller redesigns or realigns going on at any given time. I don't tend to write about them because their changes are so small. The Detroit Orientation Institute website (opens new window) is a good example of this.

Realigning Information

We designed the old site about four years ago and they have been maintaining their own content on a regular basis. In the past year they have begun to add programs and modify their branding to reflect their new offerings. They knew their old site was not highlighting the new programs as it should so they came to us. We re-evaluated their navigation and information needs, added and moved around a few menu items and got them working to re-write their content. This content evaluation was important to ensure everything had one central voice and tone.

Realigning Design

In the meantime all their printed material was moving to a central large format image and we wanted to mirror that same look on the web. We moved the navigation to the left so it can be scanned quicker and used the right side for large format photos of Detroit. On the child pages we minimize the height of these images but they pull from the sam set of photos.

The DOI is also now taking advantage of the main university events calendar (opens new window) which allows their events to be spread further than before. They will now appear on any site pulling from the main calendar. This includes the student portal, digital signs and automated HTML newsletters. Giving them exposure to thousands more eye balls than before when they were just content on a page.

View the new Detroit Orientation Institute website at: http://doi.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)