redesigning lclark.edu

navigation

Interesting Navigation

Occasionally we may link to sites that have elements that we find interesting, or address a common design concern in a way that seems particularly new or notable. This is not an endorsement of the particular design, and it’s not an indication of how our own design will turn out. Just a little, “huh, you seen this?”

I ran across the recently redesigned homepage for Haverford College and they have some interesting ways of handling front page navigation and search:

Federated search [top right corner]: returns results in different categories like we have, but changes the orientation to use columns of various sizes and colors. Also adds student groups and profiles. Also they have their primary results be web pages, which for us is an additional click away.

Quick access [link on the right side]: as opposed to using flyout nav I guess, this puts a bunch of common or high priorty links all on the same high profile page page right off the front page.

Helpful hints: little boxes that pop up to highlight links/features/etc., is something I haven’t seen on a college site before. Too see them try refreshing the page a few times and they will pop up and go away in what seems to be a semi-random fashion.

I initially stumbled upon this site when browsing the higher education focused web design gallery over at eduStyle which is a neat site chock-full of the latest college and university web designs.

One last thing: If you ever run across an element on a web site that you either love or don’t love, we’d be interested in hearing from you. Post a comment on this blog or shoot us an email!

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