From the Nominator

The new Stonehill College website, stonehill.edu, is the culmination of our recent brand makeover, which centers on the idea of defining success by your impact on others. The redesign completely changed the way visitors interact with our website. Navigation was improved, pages are anchored by large photos (and/or video content), and a clearer information architecture creates a better user experience. While a resource for all, the website is built primarily around the needs of prospective students. We did this by focusing on visual storytelling as well as reducing and refining the content on the site to make it more inviting and less overwhelming. Large, engaging photos and videos drive the content and allow us to better showcase the people and places that make Stonehill what it is. Stories are supplemented with a variety of callouts designed to break up the layout. The text throughout the site conveys a conversational voice. There are also brand messages woven throughout the site, and these statements stand out because they use a hand-drawn font created by our art director.

From the Judges

Sometimes the traditional, boring institutional websites just don’t speak to the incoming generation. Generation Z has been raised on social media, which has considerably different content and typography. Stone Hill embraces that thought and finds the happy medium between appearing professional while giving their top-tier website a real “feel.” There is not too much content to overwhelm you, and the call-to-actions are very clear. They are very intentional with the design. They want to go after Gen Z’ers and that is definitely who gets this page. They took a risk and that is just what more institutions need to do.