GradX
Branding & Web Design
Client
- Swinburne School of Design and Architecture
Services
- User Interface Design
- User Experience Design
- User Testing
- Branding Team Member
Deliverables
- Wireframes
- Low Fidelity Prototype
- High Fidelity prototype
- Development Assets
Website
The Brief
The brief for this project was to create a website design to exhibit student work for Swinburne’s annual design graduates exhibition, GradX. The website had to let the work become the hero of the site, not letting website design elements get in the way of the student’s work but still making it really easy to find students on the site.
The website needed to incorporate the 2020 theme for the exhibition of 1.5 degrees. The branding for the exhibition reflected this theme and needed to be used accordingly.
The website needed to bring impact and really let the work stand out as it was being created in place of the annual physical exhibition held at Swinburne due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the website would be the main format for viewing student’s work.
The Solution
The solution to this brief was to create a design system which could be used in two forms. On pages where the exhibition was the focus and users were being drawn in to explore more of the exhibits, the design needed to be bold, striking and present, not letting the user forget what they are looking at. On pages where students artwork was incorporated in the design and being showcased, the design of the website needed to take a backseat, fading away into the background so the user would forget it was their and be able to focus all their attention on the work being exhibited, while still making it feel consistent and cohesive with the other works on the site.
This balance was created through the use of pattern and a consistent look and feel of elements throughout the site. When designing the elements used throughout, it was key to consider how each might be used vibrantly and set as a powerful element on the page to draw attention and then the same element toned down to be used with student work. Overall the process lead to a really cohesive site with a strong identity throughout that really brought the student’s work to the forefront.
The website was revised and refreshed for the 2021 GradX exhibition to the theme of ReSilience and used data from the 2020 website to inform the design and make strategic improvements to the user experience.
2020
2021
Testimonials
