Yale School of Art — Website Redesign Research & UX Analysis
This project focused on researching and analyzing the existing website structure and user experience of the Yale School of Art. The goal was to better understand how a large educational institution organizes information for multiple audiences while maintaining accessibility, usability, and a strong visual identity.
Client
The Yale School of Art is a private Ivy League art school located in New Haven, Connecticut, and is widely recognized as one of the leading art programs in the United States. Founded in 1869, the school offers a wide range of disciplines including graphic design, sculpture, photography, painting, and more. The School of Art operates with its own website separate from the main Yale University platform.
Audience
The website serves a diverse audience that includes current students, faculty, staff, alumni, prospective students, admissions personnel, and gallery visitors. Because of this broad user base, the platform must accommodate a variety of informational and navigational needs.
Purpose
The purpose of the website is to provide comprehensive information related to Yale School of Art programs, events, admissions, academics, faculty, alumni, financial aid, and campus visitation. The site also functions as a hub for current exhibitions, gallery events, and institutional updates.
Through this analysis, I explored how large-scale websites manage extensive navigation systems and information architecture while balancing usability with a visually engaging experience. The project emphasized understanding user pathways, content organization, and accessibility within higher education web design.
UX Research & Information Architecture
Website Analysis & User Experience Design
Content Organization & Navigation Systems
Editorial & Digital Layout Design
Current Website's Main Page
My Re-Design of Webiste's Main Page
Yale School of Art — Website Observations & Redesign Objective
This project analyzes the existing website structure of the Yale School of Art, which functions as a wiki-style community platform where authorized users, including students, faculty, and staff, can edit and update content across various pages.
Observations
The current website operates as a collaborative, community-driven platform. While this structure supports open contribution, it also introduces challenges in consistency, usability, and visual hierarchy.
Negatives
Lacks a clear visual identity aligned with Yale School of Art or Yale University branding
Navigation and page structure can feel confusing for first-time users
Background GIFs and animated elements often distract from key content and reduce readability
Positives
Encourages a strong sense of community and collaboration
Allows students, faculty, and staff to contribute and update content directly
Enables rapid updates for events, news, and internal communications
Objective
The goal of the redesign was to preserve the collaborative, community-driven nature of the original site while improving structure, clarity, and visual consistency. The updated design introduces a more organized information architecture aligned with Yale University branding, while maintaining flexibility for community contributions.
The redesigned website emphasizes accessibility and usability for both new and returning users, making it easier to navigate academic information, admissions details, and program resources. At the same time, it introduces a more structured visual system that supports readability without limiting the community-driven aspect of the platform.
Optional Splash Page
Art Programs Page
Graphic Design Program Pages
Interactive Community Pages and Example of Community Article Post
Sources used for this Project:
Yale University (Branding, Content)
https://www.yale.edu
Yale School of Art (Content, Images)
http://art.yale.edu
Yale School of Art Instagram (Images
Google (Stock Images)
www.google.com/images
Wikipedia (Basic Information, Research)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_(typeface)
https://www.yale.edu
Yale School of Art (Content, Images)
http://art.yale.edu
Yale School of Art Instagram (Images
Google (Stock Images)
www.google.com/images
Wikipedia (Basic Information, Research)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_(typeface)