University Department Template System

I have a general disdain for all things cookie-cutter. So developing a university-wide web template flexible enough for all departments and programs is a punishing challenge.

Colleges and Departments want to differentiate. And I want to help them, within reason.

The beauty of top-level stylesheets and content management, is that it's possible to design, plan for, and manage variation-within-constraints. We can build-in options. We allow for and “curate” a certain measure of customization.

In the end, success is determined by how you balance the needs of individual site owners with the user experience of the web presence as a whole. This struggle can be all-consuming, and part of why web development for higher ed can be such a challenge.

In the process of refining and expanding these templates though, I’ve learned a great deal about grid systems, design patterns, and web typography.

I say “process” ..because web projects like these are never “done.”

Design. Refine. Rinse and repeat.