Redesigning Academic Website

image shows the previous version of IIT Hyderabad website. It had a big logo, menu spanning 3 horizontal lines, big banner image with carousel, followed by Latest news and events sections.

Why Redesign

The existing interface of the IIT Hyderabad website looked outdated, information was cluttered and it was difficult to search for information. It needed a refresh both in terms of UI as well as better organization of content and data.

Major Usability issues were –

Unorganized
Information

Inconsistent
Elements & Styles

Poor space
utilisation

Outdated
User Interface

The website needs an update in a way that reflects
the youth and freshness of recently established,
not-so-old IIT Hyderabad.

The Process

Research

Contextual Inquiry
User Interviews
Existing Sitemap

Analysis

User Personas

Ideation

Card Sorting
Information Architecture

Design

Visual Language
Hi Fidelity Wireframes

Understanding Users

We started with understanding
who are the frequent visitors and what are the common things they look out for.

  • No categories

Current Students

Prospective Students

Parents

Faculty

Staff

Researchers

Alumni

Why do they visit?

Mindmap of the possible reasons why users visit the IIT Hyderabad Website
Mindmap of the possible reasons why users visit the IIT Hyderabad Website

User Personas

User Personas

Card Sorting

We studied the current information architecture, created a card for each link, and performed a card sorting in order to organize the content and put navigation in order.

The card sorting helped us in organising data and categorised them properly so that it becomes easy to find information when needed. Using the card sorting outcomes, the Information Architecture was created.

Information Architecture of the site

Style guide

We have taken the inspiration from the logo which reflected the young and fresh feel that was needed for the university.

Landing Page