This was a session originally delivered at the CASE District 1 Conference: Jan 28, 2011 How do leading universities provide engaging user experiences to quickly distinguish themselves on the Web? As budgets tighten, it becomes even more critical to ensure a visitor’s user experience is positive and strengthens the institution's brand affinity. Delivering brand messages does not need to be an arduous process. See how leading institutions have redesigned their sites to show rather than tell their unique stories.

1. 2011 CASE district i: Making the connection Delivering Impactful Messaging and Positioning in Under One Minute

2. Delivering Impactful Messaging and Positioningin Under One Minute “How do leading universities provide engaging user experiences to quickly distinguish themselves on the Web? “As budgets tighten, it becomes even more critical to ensure a visitor’s user experience is positive and strengthens the institution's brand affinity. “Delivering brand messages does not need to be an arduous process. See how leading institutions have redesigned their sites to show rather than tell their unique stories.“

3. Agenda Introductions / About us – 2m Goals – 3m Case: Wyss Institute 3 ways to deliver your brand online – 1m The 80/20 Rule – 20m Case: Bryn Mawr Case: RWU Law Case: UIC Case: MGH IHP Transactional Interfaces – 4m Case: HBS Exec Ed Form Factor Innovations – 15 Case: Business Schools Take Aways – 5m Questions – 10m

4. About Us Jeremy Perkins Art Director iFactory, a division of RDW Group Jenny Rickard Chief Enrollment & Communications Officer Bryn Mawr College Alen Yen President/Creative Director iFactory, a division of RDW Group

5. About iFactory Founded in 1992, iFactory is Boston’s longest-serving digital media agency. We create innovative, interactive media solutions custom-tailored to improve how you communicate and transact with your students, prospective enrollees, alumni, faculty and staff. University of Chicago University of Illinois Chicago University of North Carolina University of Pennsylvania University of Virginia Wheelock College Yale University Boston University Bryn Mawr Cornell Harvard University MIT New York University Roger Williams University Tufts University

6. Goals To share some techniques for powerfully expressing what’s important and unique about your institution: your brand essence To look at what’s worked across a variety of different types of schools To reinforce how to show AND tell through an elegant combination of message, imagery, motion and interaction

7. Case: Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Themes and messages: “We are here” “We are different” “We’re going to make a splash” Key Adjectives from Art Direction: futuristic high-end technology collaborative high risk "the 60s" educational (increasing understanding of biologically inspired engineering) defining the field http://wyss.harvard.edu/

8. 3 ways to deliver your brand online The 80/20 rule and brand modules Transactional interfaces Form factor as an expression of uniqueness and brand

9. The 80/20 rule and Brand Modules 80% of your content likely should be well-indexed and organized for people seeking information and documentation. It should be labeled predictably and accessible through good navigation 20% of your content is geared towards first-time visitors and those forming an impression, particularly prospectives and their families. You should be able to deliver key messages and emotional drivers in under a minute. Interactive Brand Modules are an excellent way to allocate homepage real-estate to solving both needs

11. Case study: Bryn Mawr (before)

12. Case study: Bryn Mawr (after)

13. Case study: RWU Law (before)

14. Case study: RWU Law (after) – CASE com. award winner

15. Case study: UIC (before)

16. Case study: UIC (after)

17. CASE Award: MGH Institute – CASE com. award winner

18. A good brand module will… Communicate your institution’s positioning through clear messaging Provide avenues of exploration and allow for follow-up Show AND tell what you’re really about Clearly distinguish you from your competitors Leave a strong impression with your first time visitors Do so in a fast and effortless manner Process branding, positioning and messaging clarification interactive art direction asset review and generation visual design

19. Transactional interfaces If you have stacks of data, and users who need to manipulate that data, how you facilitate their experience is a form of customer service. It’s also an opportunity to strive for innovation and elegance, if that’s part of what your organization is about.

20. Case: Harvard Business School, Executive Education

21. Good transactional interfaces… …are a kind of ultimate form of usability. The kind that people remember and talk about Site indexes, directories and other search / browse interfaces are good examples Process: use case scenarios key performance indicators user experience brainstorm wireframes usability test back end systems capable of producing results

22. form factors and institutional essence A challenge to design interface mechanisms as a way of reinforcing what’s at the core of your institution. Example: business schools sometimes say the same things: Global [presence, reach, impact] Leadership [creating, building, finding, developing] Innovation Technology

23. Case study: top tier business schools

24. Form factor Shape and metaphorical design can reinforce your message on an almost subconscious level The goal is to create immersive experiences that resonate in memorable ways in particular with prospectives PROCESS: Adjective exercise Art direction Concept brainstorm Flash / HTML 5 prototyping Motion refinement

25. Other take aways Clarify your messaging and positioning through a strategic brand development process Invest in excellent assets: quality photography, audio and video External audiences respond to authenticity Managing and edit your site like a true publication Editors in chief Governance models Create scalable interface structures Flash or no flash? As content exponentially increases, it becomes the real driver of UI and design

26. Questions / extras Art direction process > Motion studies > Rye Barcott video >