About Grinnell
Posted by: Rogue Element
August 21, 2012 - 11:44pm
As we've been working on redesigning the main website for Grinnell College, they asked us if we'd be interested in guest blogging as we went along. Below is our first post:
Thank you for letting us introduce ourselves and talk a little about the design process for the new Grinnell College website. Rogue Element was founded 14 years ago with a mission to use graphic design problem-solving to more effectively communicate our clients' stories, and we think that this blog is the perfect place to... Read More...
Posted by: Donna Dralus ’89
August 21, 2012 - 9:43am
How do you like your web?
On your laptop? An iPad? A smartphone? On your huge monitor that doubles as a way to catch up on your favorite TV shows?
Are you a keyboard junkie who barely touches your mouse? A texting savant? Love the instant feedback of a touchscreen?
Or do you use assistive technologies such as a mouth wand or a screen reader?
As the web has evolved, so have the ways we use it. The growing trend in responsive web design means more and more sites look and work equally well whether... Read More...
Posted by: Chris Jones
August 10, 2012 - 2:59pm
We recently received an interesting question regarding the relationship between Griswold College, in Davenport, IA, and Grinnell College, and whether Grinnell had ever been called Griswold. We had never heard of such a direct relationship between the two institutions, which made it an intriguing question and a fun, albeit brief, research project.
As some of you may know, Grinnell College began its existence as Iowa College and was founded in Davenport in 1846 by a group of... Read More...
Posted by: Leonya Ivanov
August 2, 2012 - 5:47pm
When users visit any page under grinnell.edu, they do (and should) consider it all as simply “Grinnell’s Website”. It is, however, a large collection of web-enabled servers that perform different functions and use different tools and techniques.
First, of course, there is PioneerWeb - the College’s “Intranet” - designed to be limited to internal communications. There are also a number of servers that perform dedicated functions, like Campus Calendar, Campus Directory, or Library Catalog.... Read More...
Posted by: Leonya Ivanov
July 27, 2012 - 5:34pm
The audit identified high-impact tasks that we could complete right away. First, the site theme color was blue. So we changed it to scarlet and black. Second, the site search didn't work, so we fixed it. Third, users really wanted to see a virtual campus tour, so we launched it (and, with the help of Kabenla Armah ’04, we developed the College's first mobile app for Apple and Droid while we were at it).
Meanwhile, we were preparing for the next big step. Rogue and Promet know our site... Read More...
Posted by: Jim Reische
July 27, 2012 - 9:49am
In my last post I compared website development to a family dinner: it’s not easy trying to make everyone happy, but let’s not give up and take the kids to McDonald’s.
Today I want to stretch that family analogy a little further (sociologists and others, a quick disclaimer: I’m not advocating for a particular definition of family unit here. It’s just a moderately useful metaphor).
At some point most every parent has keened something to the effect of, “But, sweetie, I harbor the deepest affection... Read More...
Posted by: Leonya Ivanov
July 26, 2012 - 9:45am
While we were spending a lot of time on the back-end of our web management, our site grew, organically, freely, and not necessarily coherently. So we decided to take the next, long overdue step: to look what the actual user experience. Normally, people are scared of the audits and the consequences they might bring. We were different. We were begging for our audit. We wanted someone with hands on, real world experience to look at our site and the ways we use it.
So, once again, we assembled... Read More...
Posted by: Leonya Ivanov
July 23, 2012 - 10:26am
We assembled a big representative committee with representatives of students, faculty and staff, looked at several systems, from proprietary to open-source, from commercial to free, and discussed the possibilities on Wiki as well as with vendors that were invited to present their systems. Finally, we chose Drupal, a popular open-source CMS. At the time, Drupal had over 2 million installs, and a huge and vibrant developer community. About the same time, soon after the election of president... Read More...
Posted by: Jim Reische
July 18, 2012 - 11:37am
There are some peculiar challenges in building a college website. One of the biggest is the fact that colleges—and thus college sites—have to serve multiple constituencies.
Most commercial sites appeal to a single group: customers. Ford.com is for people who want to buy vehicles. NBC.com is for people who like Law & Order spinoffs. Gin up a good market-research team and you can research the daylights out of your audience, then build to suit.
But a college website? We... Read More...
Posted by: Chris Jones
July 13, 2012 - 12:00pm
by Sam Dunnington, '14
On my second day at the archives, I pulled open a drawer that was literally overflowing with event posters from the last 50 years of Grinnell's Art and Music departments. Many of these were stunning, either hand drawn or beautifully printed. Some of my favorites are below, and if we accomplish nothing else this year, let's bring back the Renaissance Feast.
The ring on the back of Billy the Kid's hand reads, "Let's Rodeo."
Barons of Beefe: probably... Read More...
