This is the fifth in a several-partseries of interviews with communicators who have redesigned or
updated their Web sites with the University templates. If you have
redesigned your site or have a site to suggest for these interviews, let us know.
In this edition: Brad Hunt on the Department of Recreational Sports Web site redesign
What were your reasons for redesigning the site?
We had several reasons. First we wanted to redesign the site so we could get our department aligned with the new University standards as quickly as possible. Being a department of our size, we felt that being a good steward toward the University of Minnesota is our main priority.
We also wanted to make our site more navigable. We built our site two years ago to limit the amount of clicks a person had to make to three. Although this was a huge success, we also kept a close eye on how people navigated through the site. We found that by having our primary links on the left navigation and the secondary links on the right side of the navigation, this created delays in our current and prospective members getting the information they needed in the timeliest manner. Therefore, we chose to redesign our site so that all of the information could be found either vertically (along the left navigation) or horizontally (along the top navigation).
What kind of user research or user testing did you do?
We sent the site to our professional staff and students of the department and gathered their feedback for where they felt the site was strong vs. where there needed to be improvements. We also gathered statistical data from our Google Analytics page which showed where our patrons were visiting, what site pathways were strong, and what pathways could be improved.
We are also in an ongoing process of making sure that our site can be easily read in various graphic and non-graphical browsers, text to speech readers, etc. Although we believe that the site is very well constructed for all browsers and readers, we understand that we need to continually be testing the site to ensure that there are no issues.
What factors went in to the organization of the site?
- Simplicity
- Uniqueness and unexpectedness
- Compliance with graphic standards
- Credibility
- Emotional -- telling the stories of the people that make Rec Sports the strong department that it is
We were initially concerned about it, but after putting our heads together in the marketing team, we felt that it was our job to find a way to make the maroon and gold header flow with the new site. The last thing we wanted to do was create a completely maroon and gold website, so we worked to determine what color palettes would flow well with the maroon and gold header. We were able to create some pretty strong complementary colors that allowed our viewers to appreciate the maroon and gold header rather than perceiving it as an eyesore.
What was the biggest challenge, and how did you get past it?
Our biggest challenge was skepticism. Redesigning a website was only one part of a huge rebranding process that our department has gone through as a result of these new standards. I have had to dedicate significant time and resources into our rebranding efforts. We were somewhat skeptical at first to move forward with our rebranding because we have seen graphic standards change many times over the years. Just three years ago, we were approved by University Relations to create a new departmental logo, and now we were being required to rebrand again? This initially made us frustrated because we would now have to dedicate the same amount of time and resources for another project.
Quite simply, we were able to get past this challenge by swallowing our pride and looking at the bigger picture. University Relations is not here to make our lives harder (sometimes that is a difficult pill to swallow). The more we talked about the rebranding process, the less cynical we became. It makes sense to create a strong, university-wide brand. This helps to create a consistent message on the Twin Cities campus, and it establishes a stronger sense of community between campus departments rather than individualism. We just hope that this new branding remains consistent for 5-10 years so we can continue to develop our own brand within the University.
Now it is fun to see what departments are doing to create their new brand. Although a lot of the unit/wordmark combinations look the same when placed next to each other, it is nevertheless important to remember that the general public won't notice this. When I attend conferences around the country, our new brand provides for an even stronger conversation starter. The block M and wordmark are now in plain sight rather than placed on the back/side of our apparel.
How did you manage the project and keep it on track?
The entire rebranding process lasted from May-August 2009. I gave all of my interns specific tasks to handle such as on/off campus research, design theory, web template research, presentation preparation, interviews and focus groups, etc. We kept the process on track by creating hard deadlines for everyone to meet.
We also had a management team at Rec Sports that remained involved from day one. They were great with providing feedback to us regarding what they thought and how we needed to continue to think "big picture." By presenting to the management team, we gained their trust and it in turn gave us more confidence that this project had meaning. We wanted to have the site ready for a soft launch by August 1 so we could continue to test it for a couple of weeks for any small bugs, usability issues, networking adjustments, etc. We were able to launch the site by mid August - just in time for our students/faculty/staff to see the fresh, new look of Rec Sports before the start of the academic year.
What tips do you have for other units redesigning their Web sites?
- Create a strong site map that has capability for growth
- Get more than one set of eyes to look at the site -- sometimes what the web designer thinks works best isn't going to work for the end user
- Test the site often to ensure that it can be read in various browsers, screen readers, etc.
- Google Analytics
- Emails to the Rec Sports account
- Incoming requests for new pages from Rec Sports programs
- General feedback from the Rec Sports staff and members
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