We have been very behind announcing recent website launches. In the last months of 2011 we launched quite a few sites. I didn't want to ignore them but I couldn't profile each one individually. So I have outlined each with a little bit of information about them.

Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Lab

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We sometimes create websites that are not recruitment or retention related. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Lab is one of these sites. This lab is part of the Institute of Gerontology and did not have a website previously. Their goal was to have a university-branded Web presence outlining basic information about the lab and what they are doing. The design we put together is simple but allows them to highlight their information and photos from the lab and their research.

http://agingbrain.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)

Human Resources

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After quite a bit of time we have finally redesigned the entire Human Resources website. The old site had completely outgrown their information architecture and was in need of help. The largest issue was the outdated look and content contributors were adding navigation items within the page content to get around the limited architecture. For us this was a major problem, without knowing about or being able to control the navigation, we knew we were not providing a positive experience for the user.

The HR website as a whole consists of a main site and seven departments. Overall the hundreds of pages they produce are essential to internal staff and prospective employees. We sat down with each of the departments, figured out what their goals were, and developed a navigation that worked best for each audience. The design is very basic on purpose, with more of a focus on the information.

http://wayne.edu/hr/ (opens new window)

Institute for the Study of the African-American Child

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Another website that doesn't directly interface with our students is the Institute for the Study of the African-American Child (ISAAC). We inherited this website after we redesigned the College of Education. The institute offers a lot of information online and is very particular about how it is represented. The website highlights their conferences, training sessions and research. The design mirrors their print and extended marketing material that central marketing produces.

http://isaac.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)

Explore Detroit

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Attracting faculty  is important to keep the highest academic standards for the university. This landing page was designed to put all the information about Detroit, Midtown and the benefits of the area, in to one place. There is a lot of information out there but not in a location that we could point someone to and they could explore. We designed the page to keep the visitor engaged as long as possible. Multiple calls to actions open in light boxes over the page so the visitor can click off and get right back to what they were reading.

http://wayne.edu/exploredetroit/ (opens new window)

APEX

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The university merged a few departments and changed the name of the overarching group. So we updated their Web presence to represent the new structure. It isn't often that changes in reporting structure prompt a redesign but in this case we needed to ensure prospective students were getting consistent information via all communication methods. The design of the main site and sub sites is basic for a reason. The information is the most important piece and we wanted to focus on that. One important aspect of this redesign was reorganizing and rewriting all the content.

http://apex.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)

Office of the Provost

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The previous provost website was showing its age as our newest provost, Ron Brown, was hired so we knew we needed to change the appearance, and the new reporting structure of the university, in a redesigned website. The simple navigation and overall branding highlight the Provost and the office as a champion of the university brand.

http://provost.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)

There are a few other websites which I have omitted here so I can give them more detail in individual posts.