AUC – University Website

In 2011, I had the opportunity to work on a project with an interactive & design agency in Boston called Weymouth Design.

The client aimed to redesign their existing website to create a more modern platform, primarily focused on admissions. The goal was to attract more students from the United States, Canada, and other countries. AUC’s key selling points are its location in the sunny Caribbean and its strong rankings.

The Problems

The old site was developed by the AUC internal team using the Drupal CMS. The site’s architecture is poorly organized and not designed with specific target users in mind. User interviews often reveal complaints about the overwhelming amount of documented information available on the site. Despite this abundance of content, users still find it challenging to locate the specific information they need.

The Team & Role

I led the design of this project and collaborated closely with the Project Manager, UX architecture, and the client’s Marketing team.

Target Users

The target users are identified as prospective students, current students, alumni, and investors.

The Solutions

After completing the research and exploration phase, we decided to design and build the site in two versions:

1. A mini version for mobile devices
2. The main website for desktop

At the time, responsive design was beginning to emerge, but it was an expensive approach and not yet mainstream. Creating a separate mobile version for the website was an alternative saving cost approach. The mobile version was specifically designed for admission purposes, allowing prospective students to easily access admission information, view the viewbook, leave a message, and make phone calls, among other features.

To enhance navigation, we decided to implement a mega-dropdown menu and a mega-footer. The homepage has been redesigned to better cater to different user groups by utilizing highlight and carousel features for improved engagement.

The Results

The site has been highly praised by AUC administration staff and faculty, receiving enthusiastic feedback from the audience for its usability, design, and overall impact.