At Washington University, a nationally-recognized liberal arts institution in St. Louis, Arts & Sciences students, faculty and staff are motivated by a desire to discover solutions to big problems. A & S is the place where disparate ideas collide, giving the ampersand in A & S its symbolic meaning.
Objective
Washington University’s brand had evolved and it was important for the Arts & Sciences brand to form a closer tie, while still retaining its unique personality. Additionally, the Arts & Sciences website ecosystem—a sprawling network of sites including undergrad, graduate, continuing education and 24+ departments—was outdated and disconnected. We needed to rethink the entire publishing system.
Strategy
We began by defining audiences, then evolving the A & S positioning and visual identity. From there, we completely reimagined the A & S website ecosystem, merging four sites into three, and created a visual language that carries the A & S ideals of exploration and action into each property. Our solution includes a Drupal multisite install, custom-built content sharing module, and a flexible template system.
A Modern Update
Students and Faculty at Washington University are passionate about learning and find joy in discovery. The ampersand represents the ability to study multiple paths at the same time, a hallmark of a WashU liberal arts education.
““I appreciate all the great work you have done this past year and how well you have worked with all of the players in A&S. I know this takes a lot of thought, planning and coordination on your end. ”
Ebba Segerberg, PhD, Director of Communications in Arts & Sciences, Washington University
A New Digital Strategy
Post-audit, our recommendations included consolidating two of the primary gateway websites, developing new sites for the Graduate School and University College, and creating a flexible department theme. We also custom-built a Drupal content sharing module to keep people, news and events in sync across the system.
Visit the New Arts & Sciences at Washington University
Results
As a gateway to Washington University, the new Arts & Sciences website welcomes visitors, providing a jumping off point to programs, events and the most groundbreaking faculty and student research from across WashU.The content sharing capabilities have minimized duplicate and inaccurate content throughout the system. The Arts & Sciences team is in the process of building out the initial department websites and will begin rolling those out throughout 2018.