“The Grad Show Release”

Submitted by Roxanne Toronto on Thu, 2009-04-16 21:23

Introduction

We are extremely pleased to introduce a new website design that we affectionately call “The Grad Show Release”.   

This release coincides with our upcoming 2009 Graduation Exhibitions that begin on May 3rd and will showcase the work of over 300 graduate and undergraduate students highlighting creativity and innovation across visual arts, media and design.   

In celebration of this event, the new home page currently features the work of 25 students selected from this year's graduating classes.   A complete collection of work from this year's students and past graduates can be found below:

About the Design

Working under a tight deadline while striving for unanimous acceptance from a room full of discerning visual artists and designers is no easy task.   This new design is a significant departure from the previous design introduced with our shift to the Drupal content management system in the Fall of 2006.

Haig Armen, an accomplished designer and Interactive Design instructor at Emily Carr, and his crew at LiFT Studios did an exceptional job of meeting the University's expectations.  They provided a clean, flexible design that highlights our new visual identity while providing the ability to showcase relevant University activities and work front and centre on our home page.

“Our goal was to reflect the caliber of talent at Emily Carr University by drawing focus to the work of students and faculty” says Armen. “The new site design provides a subtle framework that allows the content to move to the foreground.”

“We believe the Grad Show 2009 iteration of the site design is the first step towards the new strategy of expressing the work and dialog within the Emily Carr community.”

Showcase of previous designs

Below are a sample of some of the school's previous web designs.   Images for the years 2000-2003 unfortunately could not be located.

 

1996 1998 2004
2006 2009

Looking Forward

The introduction of this new design is the first phase in a series of planned, incremental website upgrades which will feature:

  • improved usability for visitors and end users.
  • increased use of visual media such as image galleries and video showcasing public events hosted at the University and work from the Emily Carr community.
  • increased support for user generated content from our staff, faculty and student communities.
  • the introduction of social networking features allowing for enhanced community building, collaboration and communication between students, faculty and staff.

With the introduction of these added features in our upcoming releases, we hope to transform our current site from something which is relatively static into a collaborative engine of information and idea exchange that will adjust with the times.  Our website will increasingly reflect the immense talent, innovation and creativity within our University and will help us reach out to students, faculty and communities in new and exciting ways.

Give Us Your Feedback

What do you think of the new design?  We welcome comments and feedback on the design and our future plans for the site.   

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