AI at UF
Project Overview
The University of Florida’s Artificial Intelligence website needed a redesign and as the Web Developer hired to help the Marketing and Communications department with current and upcoming web projects, I was assigned this task. UF’s Artificial Intelligence initiative was being developed around that time, and they needed an updated website where they could present that information for all interested parties and stakeholders to access once completed. I was asked to redesign the landing page and to also add a possible AI News section as well as an AI Search section.
Process
I met with members of the Market and Communications team at UF and we discussed the type of content they hoped to have presented on the landing page, as well as a vision for other additions to the website like a news section and a search section. They showed me websites for other universities’ AI initiatives, and I also did my own research on other companies and organizations’ AI-focused websites. I was particularly inspired by Google’s AI website. Although I had to maintain UF’s branding, I was able to incorporate some elements of the bright, open spacing and a mixture of sharp-cornered and round, soft-cornered containers in my AdobeXD mockups.
After designing, having the design reviewed and then eventually approved, the next step was development. I worked with a few teammates to help build out parts of the pages. We used a content management system called Terminal 4. It allows us to build content types using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in order to create reusable content pieces that users can add to their websites to display content and other media of their choosing.
Outcome
The AI news page exists, but uses some variation in design today and the search has since been put on pause. I do not have much insight into what led to these decisions, but the website is still available, provides pertinent data, and still uses content types and layouts that I created a few years ago.