Arts Is...

The fundamental goals of the new web site for the College of Arts & Sciences are to tell the wonderfully rich story of the college through images, stories, multimedia and more, and to increase the functionality and usability of the site.

Telling the Story

• Show the depth and breadth of Arts & Sciences
• Unbury the “special options” (such as the amount and sophistication of student research)
• Create a page that is timely
  • update often
  • bring in feeds from elsewhere (events, student blogs)
  • use the power of the medium to publish once and distribute multiple places on the site
• Make site rich with content
  • take advantage of multiple content sources (Cornell Chronicle, external press, our own features)
  • create feature sites for big projects (such as the Baroque Organ and the Physical Sciences Building)
• Add depth with multi-media
• Create an authentic voice by featuring:
  • blogs
  • curated flickr
  • curated youtube
  • gateways to popular social networking

Improving Functionality

• Make technical functionality operate more smoothly
• Put things where people can find them
• Label things in ways that make sense
• Offer multiple gateways for people to find what they are looking for
• Because research shows students think in terms of “majors,” create a better way for students to learn about our majors and minors
• Make it easier for faculty to find what they want through department sites (their preferred route)
• Whenever possible, replace long lists with more focused clusters of information

Filed under: Updates by jen