Trystyn O'Haver
WVU"S CREATIVE ARTS CENTER
VIRGINIA AVENUE LIQUORS
Client: WVU's Creative Arts Center
Project Type: Web Design
My Role: UX/UI Design
WVU's CREATIVE ARTS CENTER
This splash page redesign for WVU’s College of Creative Arts and Media focuses on clear navigation, bold visuals, and user engagement. The goal was to reflect the college’s creative spirit while improving usability and showcasing key programs and experiences.
Goal
To develop a visually compelling and user-friendly portfolio website for WVU’s Creative Arts Center that highlights student work, promotes department events, and reinforces the university’s creative mission—while maintaining accessibility, institutional branding, and ease of navigation for a broad audience.
Reimagining First Impressions :
A Splash Page Redesign for WVU's Creative Arts Center
Discovering Challenges and Clarifying Direction
Website Audit
The existing splash page offers key information but presents an opportunity for stronger visual storytelling and user engagement. While the structure highlights essential areas, it could benefit from a more dynamic layout and intuitive flow that better reflects the energy and diversity of the college. Enhancing the visual hierarchy and interactivity would help showcase student work, events, and facilities in a more compelling way.
Audience Insights
Visitors to the site include prospective students, current students, faculty, alumni, and community members. Each group is looking for specific information, from program offerings and admissions to events and campus resources. Understanding these diverse user needs helped shape a design that aims to be informative, welcoming, and easy to navigate for all audiences.
Project Goals
The goal was to redesign the splash page to create a more engaging first impression while improving navigation and accessibility. The updated design needed to highlight the college’s vibrant programs, creative spaces, and student opportunities, all while aligning with WVU’s brand. The result aims to spark curiosity, encourage exploration, and better reflect the dynamic nature of the College of Creative Arts and Media.
Conducting Research and Building Empathy
User Personas
Spoke with current and prospective WVU students to understand what they expect from a college splash page. Most wanted quick access to programs, facilities, and student life highlights. They also emphasized the importance of visual appeal and modern design.
User Journeys
Reviewed splash pages from other top art and media schools to identify common patterns and opportunities. Schools that used immersive visuals, interactive elements, and streamlined navigation created stronger first impressions. These insights helped shape a more engaging and effective layout.
Key User Needs
Developed key personas including prospective high school students, transfer applicants, and parents. Each user group had distinct goals—whether it was exploring majors, understanding career outcomes, or getting a sense of the creative culture. These needs directly informed the visual hierarchy and content layout.
Understanding the Problem and Designing for Impact
Navigation Challenges
The website lacks navigation, product information, and essential details like store hours and location. It’s not mobile-friendly, visually outdated, and doesn’t reflect the store’s personality or purpose.
Lack of Visual Engagement
The current site lacked modern visuals and branding consistency, making it harder to reflect the creative, dynamic identity of the college.
UX Design Goals
The goal was to streamline content, enhance visual appeal, and build a more engaging and accessible homepage that speaks to diverse audiences—from prospective students to alumni.
Mapping the User Journey and Site Architecture
Use this space to promote the business, its products or its services. Help people become familiar with the business and its offerings, creating a sense of connection and trust. Focus on what makes the business unique and how users can benefit from choosing it.
Wireframing and Enhancing the User Experience
The wireframes for the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media splash page served as a blueprint for organizing content, improving user flow, and defining the layout structure. By mapping out each section early, I was able to focus on hierarchy, clarity, and usability while keeping the school’s goals and audience in mind.
Final Design
Final Look & Interactive Prototype
The final design brings together the refined structure, visual hierarchy, and updated branding into a modern, user-friendly experience. Bold typography, dynamic visuals, and an organized layout guide users through the site with clarity and ease. The splash page prioritizes quick access to essential resources for students, faculty, alumni, and visitors, while maintaining a strong sense of identity and school pride.
A fully interactive prototype was developed in Figma to simulate user flow, test navigation patterns, and visualize the responsive layout. This clickable model demonstrates how the final site encourages exploration and engagement across all devices.