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Redesigns 2011: Otterbein360

September 14, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

Otterbein360, the combined web site for student media at Otterbein University, redesigned recently, using the Detroit Softworks Gryphon CMS. Here’s the new look:

And here’s a screenshot from Archive.org showing the old look from February, 2011:

I like the lighter look with more white space. The slimmed-down logo also looks nice.

If your college news organization has redesigned their website, send me an e-mail (see the left-side rail for the address) or comment on one of these posts, which are archived under the category Redesigns.

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Redesigns 2011: The East Carolinian

September 12, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

UPDATE: As sometimes happens, the Archive.org link was not a recent version of the EC. I’ve replaced it with a more current version – ed.

The East Carolinian at East Carolina University recently redesigned their site. The new site uses the WordPress CMS, hosted by College Publisher. Student Media Director Paul Isom said the staff has already taken advantages of new features of the site: “Using WordPress has already freed us up to do some new things, including live blogging the first football game of the season vs. South Carolina in Charlotte.”

Here’s the new site:

Here’s a screenshot of the old site from the Wayback Machine dated June 6, 2011:

Lots of improvements in the new design, which is based on a theme by Gabfire Themes. I do think the header may be a little large, especially with the two decks of navigation underneath. This doesn’t cause problems on a large screen, but someone looking at the site on a 13″ laptop, for instance, would have a lot of screen real estate taken up by the flag.

What do you think?

If your college news organization has redesigned their website, send me an e-mail (see the left-side rail for the address) or comment on one of these posts, which are archived under the category Redesigns.

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Redesigns 2011: Daily Pennsylvanian

September 8, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

The Daily Pennsylvanian has redesigned their web site, with a lot of back-end work going into the project. As Eric Jacobs, general manager, wrote:

We’ve moved from our in-house-created Drupal-powered CMS to the Detroit Softworks Gryphon CMS, and we’ve completely redesigned the site. The new site presents more content, more cleanly; it incorporates feeds from our other sites, like our 34th Street Magazine (34st.com), UnderTheButton campus life blog (UnderTheButton.com), and The Buzz sports blog; has a lot more flexible main page layout options (invoked via simple tagging rather than coding changes); better integrates and features multimedia content, features dynamic and interactive content on section pages, and more. It’s certainly the farthest we’ve ever come from being mostly shovel-ware from the print edition. The Gryphon CMS also gives us a high-quality mobile-optimized site for the first time.
Here’s the new site design:
Here’s a screenshot taken from a February, 2011 archive.org crawl (minus the ads):

Online Managing Editor Jared McDonald and Lead Online Developer Kyle Hardgrave were the driving forces behind the new site design, Jacobs said, while working with “a working committee of many of the paper’s editors which met weekly through much of the spring semester.”

I like the new navigation and flag design, and the use of more visual content “above the fold.”

If your college news organization has redesigned their website, send me an e-mail (see the left-side rail for the address) or comment on one of these posts, which are archived under the category Redesigns.

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Redesigns 2011: St. Louis Community College – Meramec

September 7, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

The SLCC-M Montage moved to WordPress this semester, and here is their new design:

montagenew

Here’s a screenshot from archive.org of their old design:

montageold

The two-column format seems to look more pleasing. More white space, more graphic elements. There still seems to be a bit of navigation bar confusion at the top of the page. What do you think?

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Redesigns 2011: Daily Nebraskan

September 1, 2011 in design, Redesigns, Websites

The Daily Nebraskan at the University of Nebraska has refreshed their design for the new year. Here’s what the site looks like today:

dailynebraskannew

And here’s what it looked like in February, 2011 (via archive.org):

nebraskanold

I like the addition of more graphics “above the fold” to draw viewers into the stories. Also, the “flag” tones down the red somewhat. What do you think?

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Redesigns 2011: Ga. Tech Cable Network

August 26, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

Georgia Tech’s Cable Network recently redesigned their web site. Here’s the new look:

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech

I don’t have a screenshot of what the earlier design looked like, but you can check out an archived version of what the site looked like in Feb. 2009 at the Internet Archive.

The front page of the web site is very graphic. If I could change anything, I’d probably try to make the white space between the elements more even, especially within columns (note the width of the video player center page above the MTV casting call graphic).

As always, if your media site has done a redesign recently, send me an e-mail at scmurley -at- gmail.com to let me know for a future post. And if possible, please include a screenshot of what the site looked like before the redesign for comparison.

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CMA relaunches web site and National College Media Convention Details: Orlando

August 25, 2011 in College Media, Redesigns

Earlier this week, College Media Advisers, Inc., the national organization representing those who advise college news organizations, relaunched their web site with a new design and a new CMS from WildApricot. Here’s the new look collegemedia.org:

collegemediaredesign

It is less cluttered than the previous version of the site, which was put up in 2008, although I’m not a fan of too many items in a left nav bar. There are other changes in store for the new site, so it will likely change in the future. Any thoughts.

In a related vein, the planning for the Fall National College Media Convention is almost complete. You can see what’s going on in Orlando this October by downloading the convention brochure (PDF link).

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Redesigns 2011: Penn State Collegian

August 25, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

The Penn State Daily Collegian redesigned their site this summer. Here’s the new version:

Penn State Daily Collegian

Penn State Daily Collegian

The Daily Collegian upgraded their design last summer as well. Here’s what it looked like when we showcased it in 2010:

collegian2010

The move from a color background to a white background looks good. Also, they’ve moved more information “above the fold.”

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Redesigns 2011: NCC Lion’s Roar

August 24, 2011 in Redesigns, Websites

The Normandale Community College Lion’s Roar updated their web site design this summer.

Adviser Mark Plenke says, “Really a tweak to tone down the color, but it is new. We’ve gone online-only this fall, by the way, and have once-a-week access to the student email list to send a ‘what’s new on the site’ message.”

Here’s what the new site looks like:

Lion's Roar

Lion's Roar

As always, if your media site has done a redesign recently, send me an e-mail at scmurley -at- gmail.com to let me know for a future post. And if possible, please include a screenshot of what the site looked like before the redesign for comparison.

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Redesigns 2011: Baylor Lariat

August 23, 2011 in Redesigns

As is tradition here, I’m going to be posting a series about college news org. redesigns for the new school year. Whenever possible, I’ll post a “before” and “after” image with each post. If your school news org has redesigned the web site for the 2011-12 school year, shoot me an e-mail at scmurley -at- gmail.com and I’ll include you in an upcoming post. If possible, include a screenshot of what the old site design was like.

You can see past articles in the series here.

As much as possible, each school will get its own post to highlight the redesign. I’ll also mention what CMS they are using, if I can figure that out.

First up, the Baylor Lariat. This redesign was actually launched in January, but I’m including it since it slipped under the radar last semester. The new Lariat is at a new URL (baylorlariat.com) and uses WordPress as a CMS. The new site’s theme is from GabFire.

Here’s the new site:

Baylor Lariat

Baylor Lariat

And here’s what it looked like before:

lariatold

The new site looks much cleaner, with a better use of white space, more visuals, and more information available on the screen. Assistant Media Adviser Julie Freeman said the new site has been met with enthusiasm.

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