The Challenge
The need of the hour was to revamp its website along the lines of a communication strategy which positioned the brand as a global institute of repute and establishes design as a path of mainstream future education and careers, to attract parents and students as serious takers of design education. The emphasis was to get across the idea of a world-class creative education that lead to promising futuristic opportunities, assuring stakeholders of its relevance and importance in the 21st century.
The project was initiated to set a standard for creative education by repositioning Pearl’s identity from being perceived as a fashion institute to a pioneering design college, bringing to fore the brand’s key values into reality, as a disruptive, creative, intellectual and futuristic educational leader.
Our Methodology
To align and bring to the fore the brand’s key values into reality, a strong visual creative identity of the academy was worked upon to position the brand as disruptive, creative, intellectual and futuristic.
The direction for the design was taken ahead through a stakeholder workshop to understand the business requirements, perceptual mapping, competition audit followed by gaining user perspectives and understanding persona-based needs. Technology vision(google analytics, important devices) also served as important feeders to directing visual design. These informed the anatomy of the information architecture and in guiding the design strategy and development.
Some design elements incorporated were a magazine-style approach, with big bold flat design, offering a candid style of imagery for bringing in impactfulness. While contextual usage and placement of buttons, action items made navigation simpler, for both regular and persona-driven navigation styles. Embedded videos were added for making it easier for people to understand and allow the brand to communicate. Whereas a consistent layout and reuse of components made the website efficient, scalable and maintenance appropriate, supplemented with a responsive and liquid design for mobile.
KEY FEATURES
The uniqueness of the brand was envisioned to manifest through a magazine-style layout which could simulate the feeling of a prospectus, reasserting its identity as a world-class institution.
Disruptive storytelling as a key idea was introduced to engage and attend to the key users. Persona driven content (for parents, prospective students, applicant) was formulated to engage and answer queries of stakeholders through a compelling visual and content narrative, drawing to address problems driven from their key motivations.
While a well-structured content strategy was used to emphasize the depth and seriousness of design education’s intent.
Less templatized, dynamic and visual driven look was ideated to bring in the contemporary angle of a creative and new-age institution. Some design elements incorporated were a magazine-style approach, with big bold flat design, offering a candid style of imagery for bringing in impactfulness.
The visual direction set for the website is now guiding the format for the brand’s other communication material and has created direction for all its creative communication.
DESIGN ACTIVITIES
Stakeholder workshop, Competitive research, Product Definition, Design Principles, UI UX Design, Visual System, Front-end Prototyping, Front-end Development.
CURRENT STATUS
The project having delivered in line with academic calendar has set the precursor to drive more admissions and is being appreciated by key stakeholders.
AWARDS
