Harvard Kennedy School: Rethinking Architecture and Brand to Better Serve Users

Visit: www.hks.harvard.edu

Industry: Science & Education, Nonprofit

Services: Web Design & Development, Online Marketing

Challenge: After years of having departments and student groups create their own websites independently, a name change became the catalyst for a complete re-envisioning of the Kennedy site. The new vision entailed focusing on the audience segments, plus creating a workable process for managing websites.

Solution: Working with its partner branding firm, BBMG, Digital Pulp brought the new branding platform to life with a series of compelling messages delivered on the home page. The site gave audiences two pathways to information: through an audience-based navigation (for students, alumni, etc.), as well as through the traditional content-based architecture. DP also developed a new content management system (CMS) to facilitate site maintenance.

Result: Launched in 2007, the new site increased web traffic and improved usability for all target segments. The branding guidelines and the CMS enabled smaller groups to easily create their own micro-sites within the unified look and feel of the main site.