MIT Admissions Website
Web Design · IA · Illustration · Photography
Request for Proposal
“The MIT Admissions office is seeking a new design that will better reflect our mission and goals with a fun, quirky ‘MIT vibe’ that is also in keeping with current web design industry trends.”
— MIT Admissions office
The RFP team wanted a redesign that was fresh, fun, and quirky while working within their existing design standards. My suggested approach of a streamlined site that incorporated their signature color palette along with blog-type avatar illustrations in place of the usual photo treatment resonated with the committee. They felt this approach was the most interesting and would convey the “MIT Vibe” they were looking for. I was awarded the project and the rest is history.
Before & After
Wireframes
I worked alongside the MIT team creating rounds of low and high fidelity wireframes and clickable prototypes.
Blogger Illustration 1.0
I have been drawing all the blogger avatars for the site using a Wacom tablet. The site was launched with the first round of the illustration which is watercolor style.
Blogger Illustration 2.0
The current illustration is a more detailed and realistic rendering, paying special attention to skin color, to better reflect the diversity of MIT's student body.
Final Design
The final chosen design was extended to all public facing pages including the admissions portal, MyMIT portal for applicants, and MITwiki.
Photography
As part of the overall project, I also shot a series of student portraits for the MIT admission office to be used in the portal for all admitted students. The vision for the shoot was to show student diversity across all the various departments and schools at MIT.
