Designing for365 Days a Year

the MIT Home Page

Suzana Lisanti, Publisher

Susan Curran, Managing Editor

web.mit.edu

MIT community = 15K people

"What interesting and wonderful things are happening at MIT?"

Current students

Prospective students

Grad students

Faculty & researchers

Staff

Parents

Alumni

Media

General public

K-12

Key messages

Witty puzzle-solvers

MIT Campus

MIT Logo

The institutional frame & the creative canvas

1M pages, 1K servers300K hits to top page a day, 70% from outside MIT

Philosophy

• The home page showcases “the real MIT” through the creative, hands-on spirit of the MIT community. It is a window into what makes MIT unique.

• Graphics are designed and contributed by members of the community, and content is community-generated.

• Anyone can request a spotlight, submit a graphic for consideration, or write to us with comments about the page. Many high school students interact with us, as well as students at other colleges, and all segments of the MIT community. All comments are thoughtfully considered.

Spotlight criteria #1

• Timeliness

• Promotion of MIT's mission and key messages

• Balance of interest to internal and external audiences

• Diversity of topics, creating a well-rounded impression of MIT

Spotlight Criteria #2

• Intellectually engaging content

• A bias towards action and participation, as befits a community of “do-ers”

• Ideas that cut across disciplinary and organizational boundaries

• Concepts that truly reflect MIT, and reaffirm it as a special place

Inspiration:

Apple Computer’s

“Think different” campaign by Chiat/Day

The professionally designed

The “real”

“Witty thinking is playfulness with ideas, words playing against images, unexpected connections prompting new insights.

It is clever thinking, not funny drawing.”

- Edward de Bono

inspiration:

Challenges

• So much to show, so little space• Balance diverse communities and

interests• Show images of reality • Maintaining editorial and curatorial

process• How to keep the page uncluttered • Dual branding – how to promote

spotlight as well as “MIT”

Home Page = Sustainable Ecology

• Changing spotlights show people they’re important to MIT

• The graphic artist is credited on the MIT home page, with a short bio & link to their web site.

• “Have you seen the home page today?” provides a common point of interest

Brand engagement

“generic” imagesChallenge:

“Don’t change the change”

Since 1997, the MIT home page has changed daily as an interactive site that informs and actively engages the MIT community and visitors.

In an open-source spirit, anyone – the MIT community and the public – are encouraged to submit images or designs.

In 2003 the top pages were redesigned, and the #1 request from our community was: don’t change the change.

Questions, comments?

Thank you.