UNDERGRAD
ADMISSIONS
The Undergraduate Admissions site underwent a massive overhaul, in what became the premiere of The State Way design system.
PROJECT INFO
CLIENT
Admissions,
Georgia State University
Georgia State University
ROLE
Design and develop
DURATION
2017 – 18
DESIGN TOOLS
WordPress, Sketch
OVERVIEW
THE GOAL WAS TO OPTIMIZE USER ENGAGEMENT, CREATE A SPEEDY, SIMPLE AND COMPACT EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD ALSO ADOPT THE AESTHETICS OF OUR BRAND CAMPAIGN, THE STATE WAY.
The site leads prospective and newly accepted Georgia State students through two respective processes — how to apply and how to enroll following acceptance — and provides a full look at the Georgia State student experience, from academics to campus life, financial aid resources, scholarships and more.
IMPETUS / MOTIVATIONS
SUPPORT ENDING FOR THE AGING TECHNOLOGY ON THE BACK-END
VERY DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS TO FIND INFO
INCLUDED LITTLE TO NO STORYTELLING
METHODOLOGY
WE USED A START-TO-FINISH MODEL TO PROVIDE AN EASILY NAVIGABLE, INDIVIDUALIZED USER EXPERIENCE.
From the homepage, a user can select his or her student type and then follow a specific set of steps to apply to Georgia State and/or enroll post-acceptance. We designed the site around the three most common student types:
FRESHMEN
Graduating high school seniors or recent high school graduates who wish to earn a bachelor’s degree
INTERNATIONAL
Foreign students living in the U.S. and American citizens living outside the U.S.
TRANSFER
Students enrolled at other colleges or universities who want to transfer
We focused on four key objectives for optimizing that experience:
1. REDUCING THE NUMBER OF CLICKS TO NEW PAGES
The legacy template had a separate page for every topic, thus increasing the number of clicks for users. I grouped like subject matters, and while working closely with the copywriters, I was able to convey the same information more concisely. Along with using deep-linkable structures like tours, I could send the same information, with fewer page loads or overall clicks.
OLD WAY
NEW WAY
2. ORGANIZING CONTENT INTO EASILY IDENTIFIABLE USER FLOWS
SELECT STUDENT TYPE
We have recently added a fourth student type, along with other common types. APPLICATION STEPS
The user is lead to step-by-step through the application process. They are also shown all of the deadlines and guidelines applicable for their respective type. FOLLOW-UP INSTRUCTIONS
Post-Acceptance instructions for their specific student type.
3. HIGHLIGHTING INFORMATION CRITICAL TO USERS
CLEAR AND CONCISE INFORMATION
Our writers placed a particular emphasis on removing industry jargon from the content.
PRIORITIZED SURFACING CRITICAL CONTENT
Dates, deadlines, costs were designed for the user not to be able to miss them on casual glances.
OFFERED HELPFUL RESOURCE LINKS
We created the Process Bar concept to offer links relevant to the subject matter and a Contact footer that could be entirely contextual.
4. CREATE DIVERSE STORYTELLING ELEMENTS
SINGLE-STORY HIGHLIGHT
The single-story highlight module was designed to convey a success story with compelling imagery, as well as a piece of marketing to prospective students.
AGGREGATED CONTENT MODULE
The Aggregated Content Module was designed to be similar to Lego blocks, bringing together different pieces of content to convey one message.
