Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal

Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal

By

AFA Web Solutions

Alyson Hayes
December 1, 2019
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 2

Table of Contents:
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Current Website Challenges…………………………………………………………………. 3
Website Goals……………………………………………………………………………….. 3-4
Project Management Team………………………………………………………………….4-5
New Website Functionality and Content Requirements……………………………………. 5
Search Engine Optimization………………………………………………………………… 5-6
Steps to Achieving Goals…………………………………………………………………….. 6-7
Task Analysis and Information Architecture………………………………………… 6
Project Strategy………………………………………………………………………… 7
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………. 8-14
Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………8-9
Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………9-10
Appendix C…………………………………………………………………………..11-13
Appendix D…………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 3

Introduction:

Yale School of Art is the art college at Yale University. It was

established in 1869 and was the first professional fine arts school in

the United States. It is the number one ranked fine arts school

according to U.S. News and World Report. AFA Web Solutions

believes that the Yale School of Art deserves a website that reflects

this prestigious status and is eager for the opportunity to provide that website.

Current Website Challenges:

The Yale University School of Art website operates as a wiki, which means it is continuously

evolving and is editable by every graduate student or staff/faculty member. Currently, there is no

style guide for the content added to the website or how it appears on the page, which can make

the website disjointed and hard to navigate. There is no clear purpose to the website and visitors

might become frustrated if they are not able to find the information they are looking for in a

timely manner.

Website Goals:

The Yale University School of Art’s website goals are twofold; first to meet the needs of the

university and second to meet the needs of the website users. For that reason, AFA Web

Solutions has created the following list of goals to ensure website success and usability:
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 4

Website Goals

 To have a cohesive theme and message throughout the website

 To promote Yale University School by providing a calendar of events, list of current
exhibits, faculty information and the ability to apply to the school online
 To attract potential students by providing a list of programs offered, degree requirements
 To showcase current students through a gallery page

User Goals

 To be easily navigable to visitors by providing clear and concise information and

graphics
 Ability for prospective students to view degree program options and apply online
 User ability to search for events and current gallery showings

Project Management Team:

AFA Web Solutions understands that it takes a great team to assure that the goals stated above

are accomplished. For that reason, we have a diverse group of individuals tasked with

guaranteeing a high quality website redesign for your organization.

 Project Manager – Will be tasked with ensuring the project stays on schedule and will be

responsible for communicating with the shareholders at the University.

 Marketing/Content Manager – Will be responsible for all of the marketing and copy

content of the website. Also, because the Yale School of Art website acts as a wiki, the

M/C Manager will work with the Project Manager, Graphic Layout/Designer and

University shareholders to create a Website Content Guidelines document so that all

content added is consistent.

 Graphic Layout/Designer – Will be responsible for all of the graphics, photos, wireframes

and mockups and ensure that the site has a cohesive appearance. Will also work with
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 5

University shareholders to create a new Gallery page to showcase student, faculty and

alumni artwork.

 Webmaster – Will be responsible for the overall functionality of the website.

 Programmer – Will write all HTML/CSS and other coding necessary to ensure complete

website functionality.

New Website Functionality and Content Requirements:

After reviewing the Yale School of Art website, we believe that most of the functionalities

required to make this website successful are already in place, but they are not immediately

apparent. To rectify this, we believe that the implementation of a website style guide for

contributors is imperative. To successfully create this, AFA Web Solutions would like to set up a

focus group with current contributors to the website, including faculty, staff, alumni and graduate

students to determine what their usability requirements are.

Because this is an art school website, we would like to refocus the content of the page from copy

to graphics. Please view the mockups in Appendix B on pages 9-10 for a visual representation of

this recommendation. We also believe that a navigation bar at the top of each page with easily

navigable dropdown menu selections would greatly contribute to ease of access. Visit Appendix

A on pages 8-9 for detailed sample content for the website homepage.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

In order to ensure Yale School of Art’s website is easily found on search engines, AFA Web

Solutions’ programmer and webmaster will do a thorough study of all website links to make sure
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 6

they are fully functional. They will also add tags to images on the website to make them

searchable.

All of these links and tags will be tracked with analytics to see how many times they are used.

We will also use analytics to determine the number of clicks on each page of the website, time

spent on each page and load times for each page. These analytics will be regularly monitored by

the website programmer and shared with website shareholders, and adjustments will be made if

necessary to optimize functionality.

Steps to Achieving Goals:

Task Analysis and Information Architecture:

After reviewing the Yale School of Art website, test users were selected to complete various

tasks on the website. These users comprised the three user profiles detailed in Appendix C on

pages 11-13, in addition to other sample users. They were tasked with finding information on

task and topical based categories i.e. applying to the school and enrolling in classes. They

determined that with the overall current structure of the site, these tasks were not easy to

complete.

With that being said, the suggested focus of the information architecture of the site should be on

three categories:

 User based: Visitor/Prospective Student, Faculty/Staff, Current Student and Alumni

 Task based: apply to the school, enroll in classes, make an appointment, search, etc.

 Topical based: Gallery, Degree programs/requirements, About Us

Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 7

Project Strategy:

In order to ensure that the website is completed in a timely manner, AFA Web Solutions has

created a timeline for a four month website implementation, detailed in Appendix D on page 14.

We have included in the timeline, brief weekly Zoom meetings between the website

shareholders, the Project Manager and other members of the team as necessary. We believe that

regular communication is the key to guaranteeing customer satisfaction.

If continued website maintenance and updates are required after the go live date, a Service Level

Agreement (SLA) will be compiled to ensure that the website is functioning properly and

meeting all the needs and requirements stated by the client.

Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 8

Appendix A: Content Sample for Website Homepage:

Navigation buttons (on the top right corner of each page)

 Contact
 Log-In
 Home
 Search

Navigation Menu (Sample) with drop-down options below the six main navigation items:

 About us
o History
o Mission Statement
o Visit the School
o About the site/Site Map
 Current Students
o Log-in
o Enroll
o Undergraduate
o Graduate
 Prospective Students
o Degree Programs/Requirements
o Apply
o Contact an Advisor
o Schedule a visit
 Alumni
o Log-in
o Events
 Faculty and Staff
o Log-in
 Gallery
o Current Shows
o Freshman
o Sophomore
o Junior
o Senior
o Graduate
o Archive
Large Scrolling Photo banner (3 photos)
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 Welcome (Picture of the art school with brief description and link to About Us page)
 Degree programs (Picture of current students with link to Degree Programs page)
 Gallery (Picture of current show with link to Gallery page)
Right side of page:
 Calendar of events (link to embedded calendar)
 Social Media Feeds
Bottom of page:
 Left side (contact information for school)
 Right side (link to all social media accounts)

Appendix B: Design Layouts:

To ensure website success, a unified and easily navigable website design is key. Below are three

sample webpage layouts that will provide individuality in their graphic content but will be

cohesive in their copy and navigation content. A consistent navigation bar and buttons across all

pages will guarantee that users can traverse the website easily and efficiently.

Home page:
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Prospective students’ page:

Gallery page:
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 11

Appendix C: User profiles:

Based on the goals of the website, AFA Web Solutions has created three user profiles for

potential visitors to the Yale School of Art Website:

Prospective Student User Profile:

First Name: Jacob
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Education Level: high school
Income level: none
Marital status: single
Internet time per week: ~60 hours
Other websites visited: YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, 
What user wants to accomplish on Yale Art website: Look at possible degree programs, entrance
requirements, and cost
Other information pieces:
 What type of device they are using to access the website,
 their home location,
 other schools they might be looking at
Things this user might want to do on this website:
 communicate with an adviser,
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 download an information packet of requirements and steps for applying

 Apply to the program

Current Student Profile

Name: Gina
Age: 21
Gender: female
Education level: some college
Occupation: Student (no part time job)
Income level: Middle class
Marital status: single
Weekly Internet time: ~40 hours a week
Other websites viewed: Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Etsy, New York Times, Amazon
What does the user want to accomplish on the website?: current graduation requirements, view
student art, and determine event times
What device does she view the website on?: Mobile and desktop
What does the user want to do on the website?: Add events to her online calendar, view classes
for next semester, and look through the online gallery.
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 13

Alumnus Student User Profile

First Name: Kimberly
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Education Level: BA in Arts
Income level: $54,000
Marital status: Married
Internet time per week: 30 hours
Other websites visited: Pinterest, Yahoo, Reddit, Youtube, Wikipedia
What user wants to accomplish on Yale Art website: 
Look up the Alumni page for events, looking at new programs for further education, and being
able to see current art collections and past.
Other information pieces:
 What web browser is the user using?
 What operating system is the person using?
 What is the number of times they access the site a year?
Things this user might want to do on this website:
 The user wants to be able to look up contact info for past professors.
 Able to look at past collections by date to be able to find some of their work.
 Take a look at alumni events to network.
Yale School of Art Website Redesign Proposal 14

Appendix D: Timeline (Beginning January 2020):

Week 1 (1/6-1/10):
 Members of project management team meet with website shareholders to discuss website
goals, objectives and implementation timeline.
 Set up day and time for weekly Zoom meetings
 Also, determine members of the website focus group, and contact participants
Week 2 (1/13-1/17):
 Hold focus group with website shareholders and project management team to create a
style guide for the website.
 Begin working with shareholders to collect photographs and copy information for all
website pages
 Client will provide welcome message for website homepage by 1/17
Week 3-5 (1/20-2/7)
 Create site map for website and start building out navigation menus and gallery pages
 Copy and graphic information will be due from client for About Us and Current Students
page by 1/24.
Week 6-7 (2/10-2/21)
 Copy and graphic information due from client for Prospective Students and Alumni
pages by 2/14
 Embed a Google Calendar into the website and add all upcoming events
Week 8-9 (2/24-3/6)
 Copy and graphic information due from cline for Faculty/Staff and Gallery pages by
2/28
 All contact information to be provided by client, including links to all social media by 3/6
Week 10 (3/9-3/13)
 AFA Web Solutions will present website prototype for review and editing by client
Week 11-12 (3/16-3/27)
 AFA Web Solutions will make all necessary changes and updates requested by client and
will present updated website by 3/27
Week 13-14 (3/30-4/10)
 Present changes to website shareholders
 Train client on how to use all aspects of the website
 Make updates as necessary
Week 15 (4/13-17)
 Go live with new website