Given the apparent enthusiasm for "branding" on this list I hesitate to
ask this, but why? Aren't the most important factors (in no particular
order)
Clarity of information
Clarity of design
Integrity of the information tree (no 404's or "This page has
moved")
Relevance of information - any web site is only as good as its
last upgrade.
Providing a web site meets the above criteria (there may be others) and is
identifiable as belonging to an institution (a simple crest perhaps) does
the precise appearance really matter? I must admit that personally I find
"branded" university sites, where everything looks the same, very boring
and sometimes rather confusing.
_______________________________________________________________________
Dr. Rick Hobson Tel: +44-(0)118 931-6375
<[log in to unmask]> Fax: +44-(0)118 931-6331
Chemistry Dept.
University of Reading Blame
RG6 6AD, UK Somebody
http://www.chem.rdg.ac.uk Else
_______________________________________________________________________
On Thu, 1 Nov 2001, Richard Tammar wrote:
> Hello there!
>
> I've been asked by senior management at the University of Sussex to ensure
> that all University web-pages cohere with 'the corporate identity'. To this
> end I've been attempting to compose a policy document delineating a
> (minimum) level of 'branding' that must appear on every page by a certain
> date (likely to be in 2003).
>
> The University's servers hold over 30 000 pages of open-access information,
> and, whilst a proportion of these are managed by the central web team or
> happy-to-cohere information providers, the majority are owned by
> enthusiastic - and often iconoclastic - individuals across well over 100
> separate academic departments and research projects.
>
> My question is this: have any colleagues at UK universities implemented
> visual identity or branding policies across a large, distributed site such
> as this... and if so, how successful have they been? I would absolutely love
> to hear from you!
>
> Richard Tammar
> Website Manager
> University of Sussex
>
