Benchmark+Analysis+of+Carleton+University+-+School+of+Industrial+Design



= **WHAT&WHO?** = This site provides information on the Bachelor of Industrial Design program at Carleton University. The school was founded by Wim Gilles in 1973 and offers a four-year comprehensive industrial design curriculum. The program itself has a unique curriculum that blends design studies with applied sciences, such as math and physics, and social sciences like psychology and business. The focus is on process, from concept and design, through to manufacturing and the everyday use of the product.The purpose of the site is to help prospective and undergraduate students, as well as faculty or industry members to gain an understanding of the school and what it has to offer.

= INFO.ARCHITECTURE =


 * all content is consistently framed within a rectangular composition
 * Information is divided into 8 main groups, as shown in the main navigation at the top
 * top-down hierarchy, and contains 5 main sections:
 * logo > main navigation > image banner > side navigation > content in center

= VISUAL.DESIGN = >
 * color palette : soft-washed colors - green, red, and a base color of white
 * typography : one font face with variation in weight, size, lc and uc.
 * all in shades of gray/white
 * composition : contained in one column box, with the bulk of information in the center
 * some pages tend to be smaller than others with more information, and thus leave a lot more white-space around the site.

==
 * images : images on the site are mostly fairly small, thumbnails on the side of blurbs on certain areas of interest.
 * There are no full-size pictures displayed and no enlargement options for the thumbnails ( snapshots below show the actual and only size of images found on the site )



= USABILITY = ==
 * quick links allow for easy access to important information
 * consistency in the layout enable user-friendly navigation throughout the site
 * clearly states program requirements per year, and provides links for more information on each subject
 * contains a very helpful list of timetables, courses and outlines, made available for students to download in the form of PDFs
 * most of the information is incorporated into the content of the site itself (except course descriptions which are linked to the main Carleton University site - but still easily navigable)
 * without a handbook, students still have a one-step-access to materials that they will need in planning their studies.



= = = CONTENT = >
 * provides an overview of the program through History and its founder, images of the facilities, list of professors and courses, and information that is geared towards specific audiences ie) prospective/undergraduate/alumni/professors etc.
 * other content include news and events, current projects and a list of industry partners, contact information, and an alumni section that encourages volunteers to get involved in organizing extra-curricular programs for the school.
 * it is notable that there is not much interaction or multimedia content such as videos, or flash animations
 * also contains a student-work gallery that is categorized by year
 * this allows visitors to get a good idea of what type of work the program entails, and allows current students to compare/gain inspiration from the work of their peers.
 * the main display box also allows the viewer to get an explanation of each piece of work by clicking the 'Info' tab at the top. Because the nature of the discipline's work is primarily in 3D and serves a practical purpose, the description becomes important to understanding the functionality of the product, which cannot be shown through a single photograph of the stand-alone object.

= EFFECTIVE? = The pros of this site is that in terms of information architecture, it is very well organized, concise and user-friendly. This is achieved by its almost identical format for each page/category. Someone visiting it for the first time will have no trouble moving around the site as the information displayed is very program specific. The information architecture is straight forward and there are no surprises when the user clicks on each main tab on the toolbar. One can always expect the navigation to be in the same place, with relevant subcategories, and a body of text/content in the biggest column. This consistent layout binds all the information together to facilitate an easy access to desired information.

The visual identity of the site is a clean, simple approach as it uses few light colors, and operates primarily on a grid structure. But also because of this consistency and rigidity, there is not a lot of experimentation and artistry, which does not reflect the sense of creativity that the program fosters. It feels too 'template' and corporate and even comes off as 'too-safe' and not very visually interesting. The use of its visuals could also have been worked into the site a lot better. It lacks interaction that engages tech-savvy users of today and because the images are only displayed as static, fixated, and small thumbnails, they lose their potential impact in the process of creating a visually intriguing site.


 * Conclusion**: Although the site could be improved in terms of visuals and creativity, the information architecture is a good example to look at when organizing content for an education environment.

CITED : from the [|Carleton University School of Industrial Design] website