Interview: Center for Austrian Studies Web site redesign

This is the eleventh in a several-part series of interviews with communicators who have redesigned or updated their Web sites. If you have redesigned your site or have a site to suggest for these interviews, let us know.

In this edition: Daniel Pinkerton on the 2006 Center for Austrian Studies Web site redesign

What were your reasons for redesigning the site?
We had two reasons: First, the Center for Austrian Studies hadn't changed the appearance or the organization of the site since it was first designed and implemented in 1996. That's TEN years. Second, CLA-OIT wanted to design new websites for everyone that would have some features in common with other CLA websites. We were one of the first units to get help from them, because we are so small and our website is relatively simple.

What kind of user research or user testing did you do?
None.

What factors went in to the organization of the site?
Gary Cohen, CAS director, myself, and CLA-OIT Web Development's Paul Coroneos and Karen Bencke (now Swoverland) had a series of meetings to talk about what everyone wanted in a design and the best organization for the material we needed to put on the web. Paul, in particular, had great design sense and was very good at translating our ideas into a clean, attractive, user-friendly design. Karen was a facilitator and also made sure that the necessary visual and verbal material was included --- wordmarks, EO wording, what have you. Gary and I worked on the content, though I have training and experience as a designer, so I was also a part of that process. And Gary had to keep an eye out for the Center's image and its worldwide constituency.

How did you think about the visual design of your site within the context of the University brand?
To be frank, our concern was to make sure the necessary university branding did not interfere with an attractive and usable website. CLA-OIT's concern, of course, was to make sure that the branding was prominent enough to accomplish its purpose. This didn't make for an adversarial relationship, but rather two parties with different priorities keeping each other honest and finding ways to compromise.

What was the biggest challenge, and how did you get past it?
The biggest challenge was the sheer volume of content that even a small website needs, and the editorial process. Everything had to be either completely rewritten or seriously updated. The new organization required new content for new pages. Every link had to be checked again, and so many (particularly in East Europe) were no longer working that we had to find new links so that we would have representative links to scholarly, educational, and general interest websites in all of the Central and Eastern European countries that are the provenance of the center. And everything had to be proofed twice.

Even today, the constant maintenance of the website --- removing outdated information, posting new or updated information --- is quite a chore for a small unit, despite the superb assistance we get from Karen, Dan Kunitz, and the CLA-OIT web development team.

How did you manage the project and keep it on track?
Many hands make light work. Paul and Karen did the real project management; Gary and I made sure that we produced our material on time and gave timely critiques to the designs that Paul produced, and tested the site as parts of it went online internally. Also, we were very clear about having June 1 to September 1 to design, build, and implement it. We did NOT want to be working on this when the fall semester started. Most everything was handled via e-mail. We had remarkably few meetings once we were doing the work, and I think that's a good thing. You can't work and meet at the same time.

What tips do you have for other units redesigning their Web sites?
Be very clear about your wants and needs, both in design and content. Tell the designer very clearly the impression you want users to have when they visit your site. Look at other websites around the university and show your designer three or four that you especially like. Let your designer know the relationship between the areas of your content as well as your content priorities. Don't be afraid to say you don't like a design. You have to live with it! Don't be afraid to insist on a unique design. Branding and university design guidelines need not result in identical, factory-built websites.

At the same time, be aware that your designer is a talented and experienced individual who will bring ideas to the process that will not have occurred to you. Be flexible. Be prepared to be surprised and excited by unforeseen possibilities. Play well with others and be respectful, even when you are disagreeing. Especially when you are disagreeing.

How are you evaluating the redesign's success?
People did comment very positively. For the first two years, we really did get a handful of comments telling us how clean and attractive and user-friendly the site was. Other than that, we're doing nothing formal (no surprise if you look at the answer to question 2). I suppose we'll have to redesign it by 2016 at the latest. We have a new CAS logo, and I wouldn't mind putting that on the website somewhere, but right now we are still happy with the current design.