Onward, Redesign!

• 6 February 2009
• David McKelvey

Apologies as I have not written in some time, and there’s a lot to bring to the table today, so I may not be able to deliver it all in one post — and frankly, you probably don’t want me too either.

And before I start, I have to remark on one amazing thing that we continue to note. Typically, the implementation of a web redesign is a big scary thing for people, and yet at LC, we are finding that most people on campus have some good questions to check, but after that, they — or rather, you — are ready to embark on this adventure with us. And sometimes even more than ready — in that we can’t have it ready soon enough and the beta offers have been generous. I have to say, that willingness and acceptance makes a huge difference in how successful this new website will be. So thanks to everyone — it does indeed make a difference.

To say it’s hard to fit the big picture of a institution-level redesign the scale of Lewis & Clark in one’s head is a little true, at least for me, but I manage to squeeze it all in now and again, before some other piece falls out an ear. So instead, I rather think of it as a continuum — something like one of those photo sliders that allow you to scroll horizontally back and forth, focus in on the details and then pull back and glimpse the whole thing. (If you’re a Microsoft devotée, think PhotoSynth instead and you’ll get the concept.)

So, I’ll do something of that over this and next few posts. Step-by-step, or rather, aspect-by-aspect — snapshot-by-snapshot — I’ll outline a number of the major elements of the redesign, and with each include where we currently are, and what’s yet to happen.

But, before that, let’s start with a little background on what’s happened since the summer.

Filed Under

• Redesign

• implementation, planning