Loyalist College
Designing a vibrant online presence
OVERVIEW
A lively community college paired with a fresh digital presence
Loyalist College, based in Belleville, Ontario, is a vibrant community college offering a wide range of certificate, diploma, advanced diploma, and post-graduate programs. Known for its supportive learning environment, Loyalist emphasizes hands-on education, skills development, and real-world experience. The college is committed to innovation, inclusivity, and community engagement, fostering academic and personal growth.
GOALS
Deliver a refreshed experience that embodies the new brand identity
The primary goal was to design and develop a WordPress website for Loyalist College that reflects its new brand, clearly communicates its value proposition, and enhances the user experience. The website needed to integrate course listings, a staff directory, and dynamic forms for payments while allowing staff to access publishing workflows via LDAP login. It aimed to support student recruitment and conversion, as well as provide a resource for current students, faculty and staff.
CHALLENGES
Optimizing user journeys and content integration
We needed to accommodate various user journeys, from admissions to student portal access and program exploration. The site had to enhance content discoverability and integrate staff information with a search interface, avoiding content duplication.
SOLUTIONS
Revamped brand with integrated functionality
We introduced a fresh visual identity that reflects the new brand, along with a comprehensive SEO and analytics strategy to enhance lead generation. The website features a multisite architecture supporting various sub-sites with customized themes, ensuring a cohesive and tailored user experience. Compliance with WCAG AA and AODA accessibility standards was prioritized, alongside integration with Loyalist’s Azure AD, Banner, and HRIS systems. Automated content migration and advanced search functionality were also implemented to streamline user access and information retrieval.
OPPORTUNITIES
Harness vibrant colours to craft a standout design for the college
A key design challenge was effectively utilizing a vibrant colour palette while ensuring accessibility compliance. We needed to create a modular framework where each component integrated seamlessly and allowed the client flexibility with various background colours. Despite the complexity, we embraced a very colour-intensive approach. The well-designed new brand also provided a solid foundation for our team to develop a cohesive and functional design.
RESULTS
A seamless journey from inquiry to enrollment
The redesigned website offers a modern, user-friendly platform aligned with Loyalist’s brand. It supports student recruitment, enhances user experience, and provides a seamless journey from inquiry to enrollment and student life.
- Studio—Evolving Web
- Client—Loyalist College
- Digital Strategist—Adrienne Smith
- Creative Direction—Morgan Guegan
- Art Direction / UI—Shane Collier, Kim Neill
- UX Design—Annika Oesar
- Developers—Jasmin Merchant, Jesse Dyck, Saqib Sarwar, Firat Ikiler, Ian Braid
- QA—Von Dela Cruz, Mykyta Ivanov
- Project Manager—Kuskneet Kukreja
