Harvard+University+Graduate+School+of+Design

[|Harvard University Graduate School of Design] By Rachel Little
 * BENCHMARK ANALYSIS**



This website is for the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA. The Graduate School of Design is first and foremost about people. Their extraordinary faculty offers an unparalleled range of design philosophies and visions; and students represent a range of experience, with backgrounds from political science and art history to computer sciences and planning, and, of course, design. The School's perspective is global, as reflected in the international make-up and diversity of the entire community.
 * Description**



//Information Architectu////re// - the logo is in the top left hand corner - the menu bar is divided into three columns along the top panel of the page - out of the three columns, the bottom three have drop down menus - the menu bar categories link to pages with another menu bar on the left showing more information - the main content of the page is an image from a selection of images (so that when you click refresh, there is always a new image) - there is an events list on the right panel, along with records and student oriented information - there is a google search bar in the top right hand corner - site map and contact are clearly and easily found in the top right hand corner
 * Analysis**[[image:agsdevents.png width="502" height="421" align="right"]]



//Visual Design// - when an image or text is scrolled over, it turns red - although the homepage seems full because the of main image used, but the majority of the other pages seem blank (for example the events page as well as the news page) //-// there are few colors used on this site; white, gray, red and different shades of gray - the typographical hierarchy does not have much difference except in size (caps) and color - the headings for the individual pages are in a very light shade of gray - the main menu on the top panel is easily accesible and straightforward

//Usability// //utility -// I think that the overall layout of the site is good although it seems to be lacking information or content on certain pages (eg news and events). The navigation is easy, having the main menu bar at the top, then sub-menus on the left once you have clicked on a certain category. //effectiveness -// I think the people who use this site would be able to find things relatively easy because of the layout.

//Content// The content has been narrowed down into categories and sub-categories which helps the user find whatever they're looking for fast and efficiently. I think it is also very helpful that for every page, there is a 'related links' panel so that even if the specific content that the user is looking for is hard to find, the related links section is there to help them. There is a lot of content under the 'admissions' category and it becomes hard to follow the flow of information, although most of this information links to other websites.

Overall, I think this website is successful in fulfilling its purpose. I like the main page but I would've liked to see more pictures throughout the entire website because right now it seems rather stale and sterile.
 * Synthesis of Findings**

http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/index.html
 * Works Cited**