Portfolio: CU-Dallas
University of Texas at Dallas
Office of Marketing Communications

The Project
Putting the 350-page Course Catalog Online

The Challenges

• A massive amount of information
• User navigation
• Work on PC, Mac and Unix platforms
• HTML 3.0 compatible
• ADA compliant
• Fast download times
• Degrade for text-only browsers
• Minimal technology
• Look good on a 28.8 bps modem
• Recognizable look with printed catalog

The Results

• Reduces printing costs for catalogs which more than covers the cost of the online catalog
• Extends the availability of the catalog to 24/7, making it more convenient to use
• Provides unified look with printed counterpart

When CU-Dallas realized the benefits of putting their 350-page Student Catalog online they turned to Ecadent. Due to CU-Dallas's extremely diverse student body, there were many issues that needed to be addressed to ensure the success of the project. The online catalog needed to be compatible with text-only browsers and American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. Since their target audience was located worldwide, speed was a major concern. Finally, the sheer volume of information could easily make the site difficult to navigate. Ecadent developed a solution that not only met these technical constraints, but also was easy to use and visually appealing.

We started off by making sure we fully understood the purpose of the information and CU-Dallas's target audience for the catalog. We then evaluated the technology to use given the data, the audience and the project parameters. Once we had outlined the solution we then created the graphical design and the information structure. We kept in close contact with CU-Dallas throughout the entire project so that when an issue arose we could immediately address it.

As a result, Ecadent developed a reliable and effective solution that helped CU-Dallas reduce costs, improve communication and satisfy their user's needs.

Page Design