From the Nominator

"The Iowa State University of Science and Technology (ISU) website is the university’s first impression to prospective students, their families, and other stakeholders who are interested in learning more about ISU's teaching, research, and extension programs. The goals of our site redesign were to engage prospective students, communicate the value of ISU, and make desired information easily accessible for all users and stakeholder groups. This project relied on extensive market and usage research to identify an intuitive information architecture, develop engaging website features, consolidate a digital visual language around brand design elements, and update key messaging to tell the authentic story of ISU as a heartland hotbed of practical, humanistic innovation. ISU stakeholders collaborated with agency partner idfive to identify areas of impact and need, validate findings through quantitative and qualitative analysis, and align on a conceptual framework for cohesive digital storytelling.  

In the six months since launching the redesigned site, new users have increased by more than 74% over the previous year. This increase has proven durable, with no single week reporting any less than a 40% increase compared to the same week in 2021. Not only has the new site attracted more new people to Iowa State’s digital welcome mat, they are also more engaged, with a 139% increase in pages per session for new user site journeys. Simply put, this website redesign met or exceeded our every goal, and demonstrably resonates with our key prospects and stakeholders as an attractive and authentic expression of our university’s identity."

From the Judges

Engaging photography, clean design, and user-friendly make this a compelling site. It is clear that they understand who their target audience is and designed the website in such a way that it is dynamic but not cluttered; it provides a good sense of place.