PROFESSIONAL ::

CHASS Identity / Website
NCSA Posters
NCSA Tradeshow Booth
NCSA Website
NCSA CD
NCSA Timeline
NCSA Infographics
NCSA Access Online
Linux Conference Flyer
iCyt Journal Ad
iCyt Postcard
WMRC Annual Report
Seth Bradley Album
Vineyard Logo
VFP Logo
Aisle 2 Logo
Collegiate Identity
CIP Identity / Website

STUDENT ::

9th Letter
Intro to Tea Ceremony CD
Marcel Duchamp
ACES Study Abroad Website
Courier Typebook
Highdive Identity
Focus Identity

NCSA Website  ::

With an academic organization the size of NCSA, a website redesign is always a big undertaking. Our group, Public Affairs, met with management and also held focus groups with staff to help determine the best approach for the redesign. From these meetings we developed a plan that addressed everything from site structure and content to an overhaul of the backend programming for the site.

For me, there were two points from the plan that really drove the visual design of the site - especially the top level pages. In past iterations of the site, there has been a lack of flexiblity with being able to manage content effectively. The design needed to be able to work for everything from news pages to technical project pages. I experimented with more stunning visual layouts, but they became a liablity for content and not an asset. Eventually I came back to a simple 3 column grid format. It changes proportions across the different pages, but maintains a cohesive look across the entire site.

The other weakness of previous websites has been lack of a strong, marketing message for government funding agencies as well as private sector companies. The images, colors, content, and layout were chosen in part to improve NCSA's marketing message on the web. The idea being that through the content and visual design of the top level pages that anyone coming to the site can immediately get an impression of the caliber and quality of the work NCSA does in the field of supercomputing.