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 Project
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Arts@MIT website
http://web.mit.edu/arts
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Background and goals
The MIT Office of the Arts was looking to launch a distinctive, coordinated new "look and feel" for its communications materials: the Arts@MIT brochure, a fundraising kit, and the department's website. The Office of the Arts uses its materials to raise awareness of arts-related programs, events, and opportunities at MIT. The director wanted the new brochure design to provide the starting point for the website design, with the goal that both projects would reflect the quality and diversity of the arts programs at MIT. The main criteria for the design of the site were that it be visually engaging, clean, uncomplicated, quick to load, simple to navigate, easy to update, and reflect the vitality, diversity, excellence, and scope of the arts at MIT. Equally important, it should inform and inspire current and prospective students to participate in the arts.
The PSB role
PSB and MIT's Web Communications Services (WCS) recommended design vendors that could work successfully on both the brochure and website to create fresh and coordinated products, reflecting the key messages of the Office of the Arts. WCS assisted with the creation of information architecture, conducted a code review to ensure that the site met technical goals, and served as a liaison between the designer and developer.
Results
The easy-to-navigate website covers eight areas of the arts and provides comprehensive information about departments and offerings without overwhelming the user. To create an uncluttered home page, the designer organized one set of navigation horizontally and a second vertically. The visual design of the website, like its companion brochure, is dominated by clean, white space accented with a large, graphic brush stroke. Small "postage stamp" images pop up as the user moves across the page, adding an element of surprise to the site. These structural elements echo some of the same elements used in the brochure and reinforce the Arts@MIT identity. Developing a suite of materials with a consistent look allows for cost-efficiencies in design and helps to reinforce a department's identity.
Vendor team
Design: Forsythe Design
Writing: Libretto
Photography: Christopher Harting
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