News
Creative Services Gives University Communications New Look
december 17 , 2007
In August 2007, Creative Services launched the IU News Room Web site for the Indiana University Office of University Communications (formerly IU Media Relations).
University Communications requested a site that would reflect the university's new visual identity standards. The site also needed to integrate with Copenhagen, the content management system (CMS) University Communications uses to manage faculty and staff profiles (and connect them with related news stories) and publish university-wide news releases and newsletters. Our new media team expanded the CMS with the addition of videos and RSS feeds.
The CMS distributes news releases via RSS to the IU home page and six IU campus home pages, where they appear as news releases and announcements. Many IU schools and departments also take advantage of the news feeds for their home pages, including the Jacobs School of Music; the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; and the Kelley School of Business.
University Communications wanted its news site to appeal to a broad audience. Our new media team used news sites such as The New York Times and CNN as inspiration for the information architecture and design. Because the site includes so much information, we created a simple layout and color scheme. Similar to The New York Times , the IU News Room’s first page emphasizes each day’s leading news story and image at the top of the page, with a row of three images below. Users can browse the site by campus or by topic.
Interactive art director Dave Harper created an original design that follows the IU visual identity standards featuring photos, graphics, and videos that is organized so that visitors can focus on the content. The entire project took about a year, from initial meetings to the August launch.
“The design makes the content the most prominent part of the page,” said Harper. He also redesigned the icons for each topic, making them more dimensional.
The site contains new information about IU campuses, such as where to park on various campuses and how to get temporary access to WiFi. A media training area was developed for faculty members who interact with journalists, and news and feature stories about IU are available in e-newsletters.
