MIT CAES Web Relaunch Strategy
Structure and Design
Web producer: Jay Collier
Strategy
Overall Objective
Inform, educate, entertain, and involve users (in that order).
Goals (in the next 12 months)
We want the CAES website to:
- Represent the full spectrum of activities in the Center (breadth)
- Present the organizing theme behind the many things we do
- Focus on people and the expertise we provide
- Present projects and units as communities.
- Update information and activities in a timely fashion
- Showcase our work with samples of innovative technology
- Present the public face/space of the Center
- Usher visitors directly to projects and units
- Sell limited products on-line (commencement tapes, Deming)
Site Theme
The people of CAES research, produce, distribute, and support technology- enhanced educational media products that inform and educate, thus helping our customers improve, enrich and enjoy their professional lives.
The site will not only present services and projects in an engaging fashion, it will also provide guidance to potential partners and clients, in the theory and best practices followed here.
Target Audience
Primary: potential partners, funders, and clients external to CAES
Secondary: potential or existing partners and clients on campus
Tertiary: providing news, information, and a place to share/showcase our current work with others on the CAES staff
Demographics
Some higher education, web/tech savvy. “Intelligent lay person.”
Techincal
Site will require version 3 browsers or higher and QuickTime to view multimedia content.
Videos will be provided in versions from 56k modem to T1.
Overall Style
- Clean, consistent communication of overall CAES theme: People working toward a common goal of creating an effective new environment for technology- enhanced teaching and lifelong learning on a global scale.
- Warm, engaging design representing human interaction (a learning community) in the midst of “cool” technology. Not focusing on distant, abstract technology products and services, but the human angle seen through the faces of people - colleagues, students, faculty
- Innovative style, as opposed to traditional corporate style, in type families, colors, repeating shapes and patterns, symbols.
- Friendly, accessible, yet professional voice in text
- An element of confidence and fun in learning and mastering knowledge and skills
Design Parameters
Theme/logo
A common theme among our projects and processes is the “Eureka” moment; the result of many disciplined hours of work. Whereas the environment remains the same, the goal is the moment when the new insight is illuminated.
The CAES logo represents the action of moving “fast-forward,” in other words, starting the fast, forward-looking process which leads to the insight.
The shape is also similar to that of a flag which defines a place or a group. CAES people share this common goal.
Typography
CAES’ typographic system will be used throughout the site. The typography of CAES will communicate MIT tradition, with a sense of innovation. Clean and clear, dignified with a sense of energy.
The system will consist of two families of typefaces, one serif and one sans-serif, which will communicate these characteristics when used in all sizes.
- Sans-serif graphic text: To be determined
- Serif browser text:: Browser default
- Sans-serif browser text: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif
Note: the number of standard installed browser typefaces is limited to those standard on each system and those installed with Microsoft Explorer. In addition, the best typefaces are different on the Mac and on the PC. The font combinations above read clearly, regardless of platform. The browser looks for the first in a series, if missing, moves down the list until it finds one which works. Sans-serif is a generic term when none of the others is available.
*Of course, even though it makes sense to have as much browser-generated text rather than graphic text (which loads much more quickly), there will be certain headlines, navigation elements, and cover text which will be graphic.
Colors
CAES’ primary services cover a diverse range of topics. Therefore, a variety of colors from across the color spectrum will be used to represent CAES services.
Colors will be organic, rather than neon. They should prompt associations with the research and academic environments.
A principal color and two supplemental colors may be used in multi-color media. The colors will be based upon the CAES logo colors that have already been used to present an image for the center
- Two shades of blue
- Gold
- Tan
Techonology
- QuickTime required for viewing video clips.
- Database publishing
- Short-term: maintain staff information. Export to html.
- Long-term: publish live on-line
Page Template
- Total page width: 540 (x 400)
- 80, 480
- 80, 160, 160, 160
- 80, 320, 160
- Images
- 320 x 240 (maximum)
- 160 x 120 (minimum)
- Vertical measurement can be larger
Cover
Proposed theme line: Technology-Enabled Lifelong Learning
Show building and people
Section navigation will be presented in colors which match inside use
Who we are, Feature, Space for Text SSI
Inside Structure
- One page for each unit
- Two pages are updated each week (all pages every 3 months)
- Content “owner” for each page listed as contact
- Maximum number of words (300) and images (2 @ 320 x 240) per page
CENTER FOR ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
“Technology-Enabled Lifelong Learning”
Feature/Spotlight/News Flash (as needed)
- ABOUT
- From the Director
- Our Mission
- News/What’s New
- Positions Available
- Search/Site Map/Frequently Asked Questions/Links
- Feedback
- Administrative Input Form
- PEOPLE (by group/name)
- Permanent Staff
- Research Assistants
- Visiting Faculty, Scientists and Engineers
- Former Staff
- Former Students
- GROUPS
- Headquarters
- Advanced Study Program (ASP)
- Center for Educational Computing Initiatives (CECI)
- Digital Video Facility (DVF)
- *proposed name change under consideration
- Streaming Media and Compression Services (SMaCS)
- MIT Video Productions (MVP)
- Educational Media Creation Center (EMCC/HTF/NMC)
- Professional Institute (PI)
- Our Partners
- Corporate
- Faculty/Staff
- Students
- Internships
- UROPs
- Academic Colleagues
- RESEARCH
- CharacterMaker
- China Longbow Archive
- Database 3D
- Operation Futuro
- iCampus
- Jewish Women’s Archive [Lestra/Kirky]
- Networked Multimedia Information Services (NMIS)
- Mass. Foundation for the Humanities [Lestra/Andrew/Kirky]
- Massachusetts Ponds Interactive
- No recuerdo
- Shakespeare Electronic Archive
- TEAL (8.02 visualization) [John Belcher]
- Virtual Screening Room
- SERVICES (AND FACILITIES)
- Research and Assessment
- Web Support for Curricula (EMCC/HTF/NMC)
- Distance Learning (Triad/Studio) [+How-to guide]
- Video Production
- Field Production [+How-to guide]
- Post-Production/Edit Suites [+How-to guide]
- Digitizing and Compression (DVF)
- MIT Cable
- PROGRAMS/PRODUCTS
- PBS The Business and Technology Networks
- Physics Interactive Video Tutor
- Singapore MIT Alliance
- System Dynamics (ASP)
- Seeing the Unseen CD-ROM
- Commencement Videos
- Deming Videos
Version 3.5 - 7/10/2000