A week or two I had a great time going over this great post from Smashing magazine. As the title clearly states, it’s a collection of homepage captures from websites of all shapes and sizes. From Ivy League to Motor League, I think you’ll agree that most university types are represented.

I really enjoyed looking at all of these if merely to demonstrate how one goal can be approached from so many different angles. The screenshots are categories under General Colleges and Universities, Community Colleges, Art & Design Colleges & Universities, and Other Institutions, Colleges and Universities.

I’ve included my two favorites here. I picked them for their clear use of hierarchy, solid structure, effective color palettes, and typography. Note that they are not from the Art & Design category. It just goes to show.

Lenoir-Rhyne University

University of Chester

I think the author says it best:

While the vast majority of college and university websites out there are in need of serious overhaul, there are some fine examples of sites if you look hard enough. If designing a site for a college or university, remember that simplicity and negative space are both important, regardless of the amount of information a site needs to contain.

Smashing magazine.

Posted on April 26th, 2010
Filed under: Education, Web Design by Highbrow
Tags: Academic, University, Web Design