New vision, new brand for higher education
Trenholm State is a small community college that for years had been known as a technical school. More specifically, they were known for providing training in only a select number of fields. Over time, the school’s course offerings expanded to other professions, earning the school accreditation and the ability to provide new degrees. The school needed to change its name and the perception of its previous limitations.
The research and planning
While Trenholm State had the capability and course offerings to compete with other colleges in the region, our research data showed us that students likely to attend the school largely consisted of working adults and high school graduates from the local area. Their website needed to cater to those individuals as well as attract new students interested in the lesser-known degree offerings.
The wireframes
As expected, the breadth of information on the school’s website was wide. With the goals we set to reach multiple target markets noted in our marketing action plan, we needed to make the site easily navigable on all levels.
Find what you are looking for
The resulting wireframes included the obvious offerings of dropdown navigation and search options. The wireframes also included multiple tiers of navigation to assist visitors wherever they are on the site. From a website section’s top page, a visitor can use quick links to find frequently sought pages. We also included modular “key sections” with links pertinent to that section’s visitor, whether it was content from within or from another area of the website.
The design
The rebranding of the school was already underway by the time the website project began, so there was a design system to build upon. The extensive navigation options and informational nature of the website drove the design, resulting in a modular approach. Events and news content needed to be fed throughout the site appropriately. We emphasized the school’s new capabilities and simultaneously reinforced their established presence with copy and imagery.
The development
The website needed to integrate into a content management system that was easy to use by multiple administrators. The users needed to be responsible for different areas of the website. The modular nature of the site allowed us to create content that was applicable to numerous areas of the site, but manageable in a single location. Furthermore, we devised those components to be removed or added as the website, section, or page-level information evolved over time. The resulting website build was a highly flexible site catering to the evolving needs of the school.
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