Information architecture - Redhouse Lane Communications

University of London: Information architecture

Visuals still of work still in progress. The finished website will be structured to guide prospective users towards the course solution that suits them.

Visuals still of work still in progress. The finished website will be structured to guide prospective users towards the course solution that suits them.

The user interface represents just the last link in a complex and analytical design process that flows directly from the client's objectives and the users' needs.

We created personas for all the users likely to visit the site â€“ and mapped their journey to the information they wanted.

How the University of London is attracting international students

Challenge

The market for the University of London’sdistance and flexible learning programmes was expanding rapidly across theglobe. The University’s marketing efforts needed a new global outlook.

That meant creating a new international brandand a new website to showcase it. The ultimate goal: to increase the number ofonline applications.

Our response

Stage One was to talk to the users. What were theirspecific needs and what were their reactions to the existing site? Universally,we found visitors found it hard to find the right information and wereuninspired by the presentation.

Stage Two was a ground-up redesign of the website'sstructure. Using the research data, we developed a new information architecture,structured around the needs of each user. Information and users are clusteredtogether into content hubs, catering to activities from choosing a course tofinding someone to talk to.

Results

Stage Three is currently underway and includes creatingthe new international brand, designing the site and populating it with content.

Even before the project is finished, it’s providingpositive results. Not only has our research provided the necessary metrics tovalidate the site's design, the University can also reuse the data-gathering processeswe put in place to harness the knowledge of all its internal stakeholders.