Brand Blog

Student video contest for $30K in scholarships

2011-11-21T15:39:01Z

As part of the current Driven to Discover student campaign, the University is hosting a student video contest with $30,000 in total scholarship awards. Students will be asked to submit 30 second videos describing what they are driven to discover. The videos will be posted to the University's official Facebook page and winners will be chosen based on "Likes." The top sixteen most liked videos will receive scholarships.

We're looking to promote the contest to students. Linked here you'll find a .zip file containing both web and print assets for the contest - an 11X17 print poster (PDF) and a 5X5 web graphic (JPEG) with accompanying text in a Word doc. If you'd like a poster sent directly to you, email me.

Here are the dates:
Video submission period: November 16 - December 28
Voting on Facebook: January 3 - 17
Winners officially announced: January 23

The full contest rules and online entry form are available at discover.umn.edu.

New Discover Student campaign assets now available

2011-10-31T16:04:15Z

The next phase of Driven to Discover, the Driven to Discover Student Campaign, is now live and the communications assets for University units are available. You can find the guidelines here and the asset & template downloads here. Informally, we're calling the campaign Discover Student.

You might have already seen some of the commercials on TV in recent weeks but, as the name says, the campaign focuses on the student experience. It shares how our students go about their own process of self-discovery during their collegiate years - whether it's a new field of study, an alternative student club, or an inspirational mentor.

The assets for the Discover Student campaign include the basics - print and web graphics and brochure and presentation templates. One new item you'll notice is a special color palette that contains the specific colors of the campaign.

It's important to note that Discover Student does not replace Driven to Discover. Driven to Discover is the University's official brand and Discover Student is an extension of it. If you're a unit still using the Because campaign, don't worry. You can continue to use it and eventually switch over to Discover Student if you'd like to do so.

If you have any questions about using the assets, contact me.

User-centered design kudos

2011-10-17T18:26:35Z

Last week, at the 10th annual Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Summit, Avinash Kaushik, Google's analytics evangelist, threw out some kudos to the University of Minnesota homepage and its views.

If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with the views model we've been using on the homepage since May--you can self-select your audience and get more customized content, including navigation, appropriate to you. Students, future students, staff, faculty, and more all have views for that purpose. It's been an eye-opener for us in several ways, including providing more data on what our audiences are interested in, at least those willing to self-select.

Unfortunately, none of us were there to see Avinash's talk, but this writeup from Lisa Grimm at Communications Passionista covers it a bit. The short version seems to be: the U has been called out, in a good way, by a prominent figure in the analytics and wider web community for taking a user-centric approach to our design.

Big impact marketing without the big impact cost

2011-10-14T15:47:49Z

Last spring Tony Baisley was in a familiar position for communications directors across the University. He needed to come up with a communications campaign to share the amazing work of his faculty while operating on a tightened budget.

Tony and his staff worked with a small team from University Relations to develop five ads sculpted to the stories of his School of Nursing faculty, using the University's Because campaign. It proved to be a success. They built an affordable series, and the school has infused the creative theme throughout its communications.

After he first determined which School of Nursing stories to highlight, Tony turned to UR to help articulate the work and design a creative. He was able to leverage the University's brand and Because templates - saving his money and maximizing communications impact. "We would have had to try our own hand at this or hire an agency to tackle it were it not for their partnership," he says. Tony was also able to work with a team that was familiar with the University and its brand standards. There wasn't the learning curve that an outside designer would have faced.

Going forward, Tony is repurposing the ads throughout the School of Nursing. They hang as artwork in hallways, are part of notecards to donors, and are table tents at events. Next up? "We are now building off the original five ads," he says, "and creating new ones featuring strategic areas of opportunity for us!"

If you want to leverage Driven to Discover in your communications, contact me at dswain@umn.edu.

U of M Mobile Website

2011-09-01T18:39:41Z

As mentioned in a previous post, University Relations is working on a header and footer for mobile devices. This project is part of a larger project to create a U of M Mobile Website. The goal for the larger project will be to create a basic mobile website to launch by the end of the calendar year. Initial content that we intend to be available at launch are:

Maps

People Search

Events

Mobile site directory

We will be posting information on each of these areas throughout the fall. Check back regularly for updates.

Mobile Header and Footer

2011-08-23T17:39:28Z

University Relations has started working on a mobile-optimized home page that is accessible using most modern hand-held devices. As part of this project, we will be working on developing a header and footer to use on mobile websites along with standards and guidelines for designing mobile websites. Our plan is to have the new header and footer completed by the end of 2011.

If you have any suggestions/feedback on the header and footer as it relates to the mobile devices, please send an email to urweb@umn.edu.

Resources: UofM and Beyond

2011-08-17T15:59:43Z

A compilation of University websites, listservs, and wikis with a few outsiders thrown in for good measure. Add more resources by commenting on this entry.

U of M web-related listservs

CODE-PEOPLE: For application developers at the U.

WEB_TEMPLATES: Discuss U of M templates and standards.

WEB-PEOPLE: Web developer and designer discussion list.

WEBSTANDARDS: General discussion about web communications at the U.

WEBSTATS: Discussion of University-wide stats.

WEBDEV: News and information about Web design and development from UMD's Laura Carlson.

UMContent listservs

UMCONTENT-USERS: Support list for UMContent content management system users.

UMCONTENT-SITEBUILDERS
Discuss site building guidelines and best practices for CSS layouts and fragments in UMContent.

General web resources

A list apart--A blog "for people who make websites."

The Smashing network--A list of resource sites including Webdesigner Depot, Six Revisions, CSS Tricks, Smashing Magazine, and lots, lots more.

Web Standards Group--The Web Standards Group is a place where the web developers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus come together to network, learn from each other, and put into place the best methods to put together web sites and communicate with our varied audiences.

CSS resources

CSS_DEV Wiki--A wiki organized by the U's CSS Development and Education Workgroup.

The CSS Tutorial--Learn all about CSS at CSSTutorial.net.

CSS Tutorial--Another tutorial from w3schools.com.

CSS Zen Garden—The power of CSS to change a page without changing the HTML.

The W3C on CSS—What's new with CSS, W3C core styles, authoring tools and more.

XHTML resources

If you use Dreamweaver 4 or above, this extension can automate your conversion from HTML to XHTML.

XHTML Tutorial—The 'how' and 'why' of using XHTML.

XHTML Reference—A best practice guide with descriptions and examples.

Tools

Firebug--Provides tools for inspection, analysis, and debugging of HTML, CSS, and Javascript using Firefox.

Firefox Web Developer--Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

Web Standards Advisor--Combines coding checks with best practices and standards in a user-friendly report.

Grid System Generator--Build a custom grid using the 960.gs (the same grid system that the U templates use). Tutorials for using the grid system are also available.

Mass email resources

CAN-SPAM Act

Email Standards Project--Great information for what is and isn't supported in various email clients.

Campaign Monitor Articles & Tips

Constant Contact Learning Center

MailChimp.com--Email marketing resources

ExactTarget.com--Email marketing strategy and education resources.

Lyris HQ Email Marketing and More--Articles, FAQs, and more on email marketing, integrated marketing, web analytics, and search engine optimization.

Mailer Mailer—Email Marketing Metrics Report includes some interesting data such as click rates based on the length of your subject line and level of personalization.

UMContent resources

UMContent support--The University's support site for UMContent includes recent announcements, FAQs, new site and account request forms.

UMContent Wiki--Review UMContent notes and download vendor and U documents.

Minnesota All Inauguration communications assets available

2011-08-12T19:57:41Z

As the University welcomes President Eric Kaler, a variety of communications assets are available to help announce his inauguration and its theme, "Minnesota All." Use the assets to promote related events you are hosting during the week (September 19th to 25th). As always, please follow the basic elements of the brand standards such as allowing for proper buffer space and not altering the graphics. If you have any questions about using the Minnesota All assets, please contact me or brand@umn.edu.

Web Style Guide

2011-07-11T18:46:51Z

This spring, when the U's home site was redesigned, the University Parent website was also redesigned. The site was put into UMContent so that staff from the Parent Program could update their content instead of relying on web staff.

To help non-technical folks understand what they can do and how they should do it, I wrote a style guide for the Parent website. It began as a simple one page doc that explained different heading tags, image sizes and styles, list styles, and so on. Since this was actually my inauguration into using UMContent, I quickly determined that additional documentation was necessary to help staff understand how to maneuver through UMContent to make specific updates.

In order to enable staff to do as much as possible on their own, I wrote instructions for common things we do when making and editing pages in UMContent. Creating a new page, editing an existing page, making links, uploading images, and changing page layouts are some of the "lessons" I've posted along with the style guide.

Of course, this is a work in progress and I'm adding more pages almost daily as our documentation grows. My uber plan is to take this framework and make a style guide that is less site-specific; one that can be used by anyone in our office who works with pages in UMContent.

In the mean time, I thought I'd share what I've started. Your feedback is welcome. And if you have a style guide of your own that you'd like to share, please add a link to it in the comments section of this post.

Note that some of the links in the style guide will ask you for authentication. Sorry, you can't go there. ;)

University Parent Web Style Guide.

What does the University have 6,975,576 of?

2011-06-21T13:52:58Z

If you answered "total number of volumes contained in University Libraries" you're right and probably have been working at the U for too long!

But if you'd like to learn more, the new Facts and Figures 2011 publication is now out. It's been fully redesigned with gloat-worthy new numbers and interesting University nuggets. Now you can show off our campuses at events, conferences, visits and the like (or arm yourself with devastating cocktail party trivia).

You can print it out on your own or easily order copies via print on demand -- a high quality option from Printing Services.

Copies are 30 cents each for orders up to 250 and 25 cents each for orders over 250. Minimum order is 100. Allow three days for delivery.

And we're always looking for facts and info that show the University's breadth and excellence, so please contact me if you know of something.

The redesigned umn.edu is live!

2011-05-31T13:37:48Z

Months of design, coding, programming, and testing are finally over. Thursday afternoon, May 26, we launched the new U of M home page redesign featuring the ability to choose from seven different audience views, not to mention the default or "no preference" view.

Choose Your View

It's no secret that the University's home page has to provide information for both internal and external audiences and that each person coming to the site could wear more than one hat depending on what they're looking for on any particular day.

With that in mind, we established seven different views--Current Students, Donors & Alumni, Faculty, Future Students, Parent, Sports Fans, and Staff--to help our audiences quickly link to what they need. For example, if you identify yourself as "Staff," you will see a home page view customized to your needs. The feature story area will have stories that may be of particular interest to staff, mixed in with the same stories that are found on the U's "no preference," or default home page.

On the right side of the staff view, you'll find links to Brief, the University's UMNews website, Government and Community Relations, Email, and Employee Self Service.

Roll over the drop down menus at the top of the page and you'll see the standard links that can be found on all views along with additional links that are helpful specifically for University staff.

Take a look at the "spotlight" sections near the bottom of the page to find events, links to Internal Communications, Civil Service, People and more.

Design

Each of the seven views has the same breakdown of sections on the home page. So for those who identify with both staff and alumni views, for example, the similarity between the page layouts should make the transition from one view to the other fairly simple.

What Didn't Change?

Some things remain the same. The links to One Stop and myU, in the upper right corner, are still there. As is the search bar, which doubles as a search for University websites and a search for people. The links to all the campuses are still at the top of the page and links to maps, parking, directories, and contact the U are still in the footer.

On the Leading-Edge...?

We've looked, and we've noticed a few other colleges and universities with some capcity to change views based on audience, but we are the first major university to launch a home page audience view of this scope. We know there are going to be some necessary tweeks and a few growing pains. We're prepared to adjust and we want your input. But...we think we're on the right track.

Take a few minutes to jump through the new site. Change your view. Change it again. Then use the "Tell us what you think" link in the footer to send us your comments.

Combining content, design, and mobile devices - 4 weeks and counting

2011-04-28T19:35:28Z

As I read an interview with Brain Traffic's CEO Kristina Halvorson, her words rang as clear as Prince William and Kate's wedding bells.

"One big mistake companies make is they are undertaking projects like creating web apps or mobile websites that are separate from the rest of their online initiatives. It's really very important that all content is created for all platforms and to let it evolve over time regardless of what context the user is in. The first thing would be not to consider your mobile content a separate project. Mobile really forces you to look at what's important which makes mobile is a great place to start when creating content because there is less space and it forces you to deal with what's most important. Smart content that can be distributed across many channels. Keeping your mobile strategy separate is a mistake."

I couldn't have said it any better. So, this brings me to the third objective of the umn.edu home site redesign:

Increasing usability and support for mobile devices

University Relations is partnering with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to develop its mobile approach in conjunction with the launch of the home page. For starters, we worked with OIT to develop an executive overview outlining the objective, strategies, and goals.

Objective
Provide an optimized mobile experience for all visitors and establish m.umn.edu or mobi.umn.edu or mobile.umn.edu as a gateway to the University of Minnesota.

Strategies
* Redesign and improve websites with consideration for presentation/organization for both desktop and mobile devices
* Increase collaboration with campuses and units
* Reduce duplication of effort and increase re-purposing of content
* Follow project management best practices
* Integrate technology and communications strategy for mobile devices into a unified University approach.

Goals
* Create an infrastructure to support and extend research
* Support the University's online learning initiatives
* Position the University of Minnesota as a leader in delivering higher education communications via multiple channels
* Increase public engagement
* Provide proactively a mobile environment to all stakeholders
* Help ensure the University of Minnesota maintains a competitive advantage
* Establish benchmarks to measure and evaluate mobile devices projects and their success

First, the home page redesign separates content from design. This is critical for repurposing content as well as content shifting - allowing a user to take a piece of content that they've identified in one context and make it available in another. The bottom line: it is all about providing the right information to the right people in the right format at the right time.

Second, this summer the team expects to develop mobile guidelines/standards that can be adopted throughout the institution. Finally, we will be focusing on content liberation. Content liberation is a two-part process that results in a piece of content uprooted from its original context and tied to a user.

We are confident we are on the right track. Why? According to A List Apart, "Websites have responded quickly to these new demands. Media queries and the responsive design movement have enabled designers to tailor the experience of a site to whichever device a user happens to be using. Flexibility at this macro level of the site is important, but the real breakthroughs will come when we enable the same flexibility at the micro level with individual pieces of content."

Cheers!
~Jennie

Read previous home site redesign posts:
Time flies when you are having fun (3/23/11)
2011 Home Site Redesign - 8 weeks and counting (4/1/11)
Surviving - 7 weeks and counting (4/7/11)
The Amazing Race - 6 (wait - it's already 5) weeks and counting (4/21/11)

The Amazing Race - 6 (wait - it's already 5) weeks and counting

2011-04-21T18:26:27Z

Over the past few weeks, I have shared with you various home page redesign tidbits including the overall strategy as well as the first and second objectives of the project.

The next objective reminds me of the television show - "The Amazing Race." Pairs of contestants on the program race around the world using clues to find locations. This sounds eerily similar to the usability testing we just completed with the University of Minnesota's stellar Usability Services this week. Many of the objectives asked volunteers to read a task and then find where the information was located in order to complete the task. Overall, it was a great success! We learned a few things to tweak as well as the top navigation is a much-desired attribute. This is most excellent because the third objective is:

Streamlining navigation by bringing the most-accessed items near the top of the page.

What did our testing regiment look like?

Affinity diagramming - We first completed an audit of all the information on the umn.edu home site and then asked volunteers to try and group similar items together. Using post-it-notes and very big walls, the organization of the new site started to peek through.

Online card sorting - Using the categories and content from the affinity diagramming exercise, we then asked volunteers to logical sort information into buckets. We worked with the U's usability lab and tapped into one of their online programs to accomplish this task. It went swimmingly and allowed us to continue to refine the information architecture of the site.

Paper prototyping - Once the information architecture was close to being solidified, storyboards were created for each of the views. As you may remember, the site allows visitors to select one of these groups and display customized information: current student, donors or alumni, faculty, future students, parents, sports fans, or staff. Each navigational item had a corresponding page associated with it and was graphically displayed. I have eight binders full of screenshots/storyboards. These were then used for paper prototyping exercises where volunteers were asked to walk through certain tasks on paper. At this point, not one line of code was written. It was critical to make sure we were heading in the right direction - and paper prototyping assured us we were.

Eye tracking - This is the program we did this week which consisted of two days of observing volunteers using the development site. Weeks of coding, design, development, and writing were poured into the site. This was the Bahama-mama of testing. Does the site work like we thought it would? Will users like the choices available? Does the navigation make sense? The answers? YES! YES! And YES! Yipee!
Yes - we discovered some more improvements could be made but it was an overwhelming success. The feedback we received was absolutely valuable and gives us an opportunity to make the enhancements now rather than post-launch.

Truly, the investment made into the several types of usability testing is absolutely essential to ensuring a successful launch. With an incredible Usability Services team on the Twin Cities campus, there's absolutely no reason not to work with that group. The staff is incredible, they know their stuff, and they are awesome to partner with.

Stay tuned for my next post as the countdown continues.

Cheers!
~Jennie

P.S. Interested in seeing the top menu? Check out the Design Direction document (pdf).

P.S.S. If you haven't had a chance to read the prose of Gerry McGovern lately, here are two good articles: The Format is not the Task and The Accidental Website Visitor

April 26 webinar to be rescheduled

2011-04-19T16:20:54Z

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond control, we are terribly sorry to announce the April 26 webinar is cancelled. This topic "Writing for the Web" is very popular and we will plan on scheduling the session this summer.

Please accept our deepest apologies for the inconvenience.

YouTube EDU: What's it worth?

2011-04-15T19:40:24Z

The social media in higher education conversation is regularly dominated by platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but I would argue that one of our most powerful social media tools is actually YouTube. Why is that? Because YouTube has invested time and resources into helping colleges and universities use their platform to host content and connect users with educational videos.

Here's what they said about it in March 2009 when EDU launched:

Using YouTube as a vehicle to democratize learning is one of the coolest, unintended outcomes of its existence. YouTube EDU is a volunteer project sparked by a group of employees who wanted to find a better way to collect and highlight all the great educational content being uploaded to YouTube by colleges and universities.

In fact, their content strategists have worked with us on youtube.com/umn, which now hosts nearly 300 videos and receives 40,000 video views per month.
We've been approaching EDU from multiple angles. We post short promotional content like our Why the U of M? video and longer content, such as the morning keynote from last year's MinneWebCon We've started building in new infrastructure that allows us to organize videos by college and department as well as topic areas, like Students.

So what does this mean for you? Well, it means that we want to help you post your content on YouTube! As opposed to having 30 different YouTube channels out there, we can actually better leverage the visibility provided to us by YouTube EDU if we host everything in one place. There will only EVER be one University of Minnesota channel listed on EDU, and that's youtube.com/umn. On top of that, regular YouTube channels have limitations that the University's main channel does not. For example, post content up to 90 minutes in length, host true HD 1080p quality and we can better connect your videos to similar topics increasing the likelihood that your video will be watched.

So how can you become part of this? Well, you can start by contacting me! Plus, I'll be sure to continue to update people through the Video Users Group, so if you're not a member, please join us!