We were recently approached by C&IT (opens new window) asking to assist with the launch of Blackboard 9.1 (opens new window). They are rolling it out in the next few months and wanted to know if we could help "spruce up" the log in page. We immediately jumped on the project, we know Blackboard is a major Web resource for our students and it gets a ton of traffic each day. What a great opportunity to reinforce who we are as a university to our students and faculty every single day.

Below is the current (left) and proposed (right) screenshots of the log in page.

(opens new window) (opens new window)

Our process and goals

Like all of our Web projects we start with the goals, working with C&IT here is what we determined:

• Primary branding should be WSU and not Blackboard
• Remove the clutter
• Remove the unneeded links
• Add helpful resources to assist with logging in

Sketches

We then went on to sketch how to lay out the site. Rolaine (opens new window) put together these sketches with pen and paper. This method is the easiest way to get a feel for space and determine prominence without committing to anything.

Wireframe

After making decisions on the best use of space, Rolaine then finalized the wireframe for approval. Before adding any visual style we always make sure the client is comfortable. They know more about their audience than we do and without their input we could be designing something that doesn't work at all. Wireframing breaks away from that visual style and forces us and the client to look at functional features only.

(opens new window)

Design

Once the wireframe was approved, Rolaine then went on to add the style to the page. Even though we don't have a strict style on our campus, we do work with a set of colors and guidelines. The design actually mimics one of our in-house developed site, the Events Calendar (opens new window). Since the Events Calendar site is a highly visible site for our students and faculty, the look was carried over to create a cross branding for academic systems type sites like Blackboard.

Here is the final design that will be implemented with the upcoming release of Blackboard 9.1:

(opens new window)

If you're interested in how the Web Communications department can help your office just drop us an email and we would be happy to talk.