PennWest

PennWest is one of Pennsylvania's largest public universities, serving more than 30,000 students across three campuses.

Introduction

The Problem

PennWest students and faculty need key information and resources centralized and easily accessible. Information was spread across multiple locations, making common tasks slower and creating a frustrating user experience.

The Team

This project was completed at the design agency idfive, alongside UX designers and content strategists.

While the UX team developed the information architecture and wireframes, I was responsible for translating those concepts into a polished visual interface that aligned with PennWest's design system.

Design Decisions

Prioritizing Search

Research and stakeholder feedback indicated that employees primarily visited the intranet to locate specific resources quickly. Rather than encouraging users to browse through multiple pages, the homepage was designed around a prominent search experience, allowing users to begin their task immediately.

Reducing Page Length

The client prioritized minimizing scrolling to help employees access information more efficiently. To support this goal, I condensed the homepage by grouping related content into compact sections, reducing unnecessary spacing, and surfacing frequently used resources above the fold. The result was a homepage that felt information-rich without becoming visually overwhelming.

The result of this project was simplified access to the university’s resources through thoughtful design.

Visual Identity

To create a seamless experience, the interface closely followed PennWest's existing brand standards. The design incorporates the university's typography, color palette, and imagery while using blue overlays to improve text contrast and maintain visual consistency across the site. These choices reinforced brand recognition while ensuring readability and accessibility.