On May 1, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences launched its website rebrand, continuing a campaign dedicated to highlighting the school’s excellence, resources, facilities, access to research, and significant innovation through scientific exploration. The redesigned website simultaneously emphasizes the existing esteem of SEBS’ academic merit and research while embracing a new digital chapter.
Source: GettyImages.
Phil Wisneski, Web Developer for the Office of Public Outreach and Communication (OPOC), the SEBS/NJAES marketing team, was crucial to the rebrand as the creator of the website: “My goal was to modernize the look and feel of the site with a clean, visually impactful design that compliments the top-level Rutgers websites, while also improving the user experience for our main audiences: prospective and current students.” He ensured the migration of the webpages to the Rutgers Core Component Library platform would be user-friendly and invested effort into debugging platform issues in preparation for launch.
Carl Leikhram, Senior Director of OPOC at Rutgers SEBS and NJAES revealed his approach to the new website’s design: “My approach for effectively redesigning a website with as much reach and importance as the SEBS and NJAES sites has required an understanding of art and psychology. Each image is selected and placed not only to emphasize key components of the school’s mission but also to connect with the audience in a way that helps them find their own goals and opportunities achievable within the language of that mission. Working on a project of this size and scope has always been a goal of mine, as it creatively improves on what modern web design has to offer while showcasing the reality of what Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences has to offer.”
The importance of university websites stems from the missions of higher education institutions – to teach, learn, and discover. University resources and subsequent research allow students and faculty to extend their academic achievement beyond the classroom setting to forge new scientific paths. This mission is captured by the rebranding of the SEBS website, as moving toward modernity allows the school to grow as an academic and research institution by inspiring current and future students to work alongside esteemed faculty in the pursuit of scientific discovery. Wisneski successfully developed a sleek, user-friendly design that reflects the digital age’s increasing modernity while ensuring that the school’s mission within Rutgers University’s unparalleled success and innovation remain the focus.
