DUKE UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS
Website + Publications
Project Leadership · Web Strategy · Brand Integration · UX · Accessibility
A university admissions website has to do a lot of things at once: inspire prospective students, answer practical questions, communicate complex policies and requirements, and help thousands of students and families find what they need—quickly.
I served as team lead for a comprehensive redesign of Duke Undergraduate Admissions’ website and recruitment publications, helping guide the project from RFP and agency selection through development and implementation. We partnered with Sullivan NYC, working closely with stakeholders across Duke, including University Communications, the Office of Financial Support, Office of Information Technology, and Duke Web Services.
What I led
Project + Stakeholder Management
RFP and agency selection · Cross-campus coordination · Project implementation · Stakeholder feedback
Content + User Experience
Content strategy · Information architecture · Web writing · Navigation · Accessibility · SEO
Ongoing Digital Strategy
Website management · UX improvements · Data visualization · Audience needs · Digital integration
One experience, not two
For the first time, we approached our print and digital communications as one integrated brand experience.
Previously, the website and recruitment publications had been developed somewhat independently. The redesign created a shared visual and editorial language across both—bringing photography, typography, color, messaging, and content strategy together so that whether a student picked up a Duke publication or visited admissions.duke.edu, the experience felt connected.
We also reconsidered what we showed. Duke has a beautiful campus, and our previous materials leaned heavily on its iconic architecture. The new creative direction put greater emphasis on the people who bring Duke to life using dynamic content of students learning, collaborating, creating, competing, exploring, and simply being students.
The goal was to move beyond showing prospective students what Duke looks like and help them imagine what it might feel like to be here.
Still evolving
A website is never really finished.
Since launch, I’ve continued to guide the evolution of admissions.duke.edu through content strategy, accessibility, SEO, navigation and UX improvements, and new approaches to presenting information.
More recently, that work has included data visualization enhancements designed to make complex admissions, academic, and financial information easier for students and families to understand.
The technology and content continue to change, but the principle behind the original redesign hasn’t: create a thoughtful, distinctly Duke experience around the needs of the students and families using it.