News
If we launch a new site, have an upcoming speaking engagement, win an award, write an article, or simply want to inform you of some iFactory thoughts, you can read about it, here.
April 2013 : DPLA launches new site designed by iFactory. > read more
September 2012 : iFactory adds another Harvard Business School site to its belt.
Few organizations produce the staggering amount of compelling research, insights, and information as Harvard Business School. Presenting this volume of information in an easily searchable, browsable, and consumable manner is daunting but critical to ensuring the intellectual contributions of HBS faculty can impact the world.
Check out the HBS Faculty & Research site.
September 2012 : A Yale of a Summer!
Between the beach and being busy ‘making web’, iFactory produced 2 new sites for Yale ITS (soon to be released) and Yale SEAS (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences). See responsive design working at its best by checking out YALE SEAS on your desktop, tablet or iPhone.
August 2012 : The Way Web Apps Should Work – Rockport goes iPad with iFactory.
One of the first of its kind in the industry, iFactory designed and built a revolutionary new internal sales application tool for Rockport, a Reebok company, used to accelerate and augment global sales initiatives. A sleek, fashion-forward design serves as the storefront for a robust, agile back-end Drupal structure to store, filter, and present the entire shoe collection for the upcoming sales seasons.
06/2012 : iFactory brings home a Bell Ringer Award!
iFactory was awarded a bronze Bell Ringer from the Publicity Club of New England for our work on the Northeastern University Libraries website redesign. The Bell Ringer Awards recognize excellence in communications and public relations work in every field and industry, and across all media – print, broadcast, and online.
04/2012 : Join us for another iFactoryEd webinar!
The range of audiences needing specialized gateways, content and pathways on dot edu sites can be difficult to manage. In this webinar, we'll discuss strategies which can help you tailor your site to a particular audience, both with and without user login. In the final webinar of our Drupal series, Lisa Sawin will cover customizing content for multiple audiences.
Tuesday, May 1st @ 1pm EST
04/2012 : iFactory project, OED.com, selected as honoree of the 16th annual Webby Awards!
Of the over 8000 entries submitted to the 16th Annual Webby Awards, fewer than 15% were distinguished as an Official Honoree.
04/2012 : iFactory Redesigns the New GMAC.com!
Featuring a new Research Library, interactive infographics and a vibrant new look, the new Graduate Management Admission Council website has launched!
Designed by award-winning Boston-based agency, iFactory, "The new gmac.com website helps management programs around the world interact with our research, connect with students, and learn about professional development opportunities in an interactive and dynamic way," said David Moldavsky, Vice President, Web Strategy and Operations. "iFactory's design and features provided our organization with a sophisticated, bold new look online."
01/2012 : iFactory and Northeastern University Libraries Announce the Launch of the Redesigned Northeastern University Libraries Website
With 206,500 scholarly ebooks, a beautiful new design, and vast digital media offerings, the new Northeastern University Libraries website (http://library.northeastern.edu/) has launched!
A collaboration between Northeastern University Libraries and iFactory, the new Northeastern University (NU) Libraries website supports the Library's mission to promote knowledge discovery and creation, build interdisciplinary connections, and create global and societal impact.
01/2012 : iFactory Lead Strategist, Pete Gaioni's article featured on MarketingProfs
In this article, Pete takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to strategy, while noting its importance in most web design projects.
01/2012 : iFactory and De Gruyter Launch the New De Gruyter Online
With access to 52,000 titles, approximately 155,000 book chapters and more than 220,000 journal articles, the new De Gruyter Online [http://www.degruyter.com] has launched!
Built on iFactory's publishing platform, PubFactory, the new De Gruyter Online is the publisher's integrated online platform. PubFactory provides a single unified platform for all of De Gruyter's content, including: journals, eBooks, reference databases, directories, and print books.
11/2011 : We're exhibiting at this year's AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education!
We're looking forward to seeing everyone and discovering what's new in the world of higher ed marketing. Stop by to chat with us about your school's digital needs and see the work we've done for Ivy Leagues, liberal arts colleges, state universities and community colleges. Plus...we're giving away a new iPod Touch to one lucky winner. Come by exhibit space #41!
11/2011 : iFactory selected as a finalist for the 2011 MITX Interactive Awards!
We are thrilled to be selected for our work on the International Monetary Fund's eLibrary, a finalist in the Applied Technoology category. Congratulations to all of the finalists!
10/2011 : iFactory announces the launch of the University Press Scholarship Online!
A collaboration between Oxford University Press and iFactory, the new University Press Scholarship Online (UPSO) delivers the best scholarly publishing from leading university presses around the world, making disparately-published works easily accessible, highly-discoverable, and fully cross-searchable via a single, state-of-the-art online platform.
"We knew that re-launching our flagship Oxford Scholarship Online product while simultaneously expanding it to allow us to deliver content through our University Press Scholarship Online offering would be a tall order for any developer. iFactory delivered these mission-critical products on time and on budget," said Scott Beebe, Online Publishing Manager for Oxford University Press.
10/2011 : A big Boston welcome to our friends from ECS, who are in town for the 220th ECS Meeting.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new ECS brand, Redcat. Redcat is a unique community created by and for everyone in electrochemistry and solid state science and technology. Check out the demo and sign up to get notified of the actual site launch!
09/2011 : The Berg Fashion Library, an iFactory project, was awarded an ALPSP (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers) Highly Commended Certificate for Publishing Innovation 2011! Congratulations to our friends at Berg!
09/2011 : iFactory and Icosystem together at FutureM! Do not miss out on the opportunity to be part of this exciting virtual event.
Functional Design Lab, Monday, September 12th from 11:30am-1:30pm.
In a digital landscape that evolves every moment, it is crucial to communicate information clearly and effectively through visual design. We'll take a look at brand modules, infograpics and interface innovations and showcase how (and how not!) to combine compelling content with smart and visually appealing design.
Join us by getting a FutureM pass and experience the future of marketing, media and technology. Or, if you're not in the area, register for our event, directly. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity!
08/2011 : iFactory project, SAGE Research Methods Online, was awarded a 2011 Magnum Opus Gold Award and an Apex Award for both navigation and innovation!
Congratulations to our friends at SAGE!
08/2011 : iFactory webcast Wed, Aug 3rd @ 1pm! HTML5: New Possibilities for Publishing.
The past year has seen the emergence of a new standard for building web sites and mobile applications. In this webcast, we'll discuss how publishers are adopting HTML5 to make their content easier to find, richer with interaction, and truer to design, creating deeper connections with users on a variety of devices.
Wednesday, August 3rd @ 1pm. Did we mention it's free?
06/2011 : iFactory launches the new Dana-Farber Cancer Institute website!
iFactory was charged with redesigning the DFCI website for a host of different users through welcoming and innovative design. Along with this, we were tasked with restructuring the ways in which users search and find content. We are quite proud of this site, and honored to have worked with such an amazing team and organization.
"With more than 4,000 pages of cancer-related content, the site uses a new navigation system to make it easier for users, from patients to survivors to referring physicians, to quickly access the information they seek. The more functional and user-friendly site welcomes visitors with bold images that depict Dana-Farber's mission of research and clinical excellence."
06/2011 : iFactory takes home an AIGA Best of New England Design award for the oed.com!
Robert Faber, Editorial Director, Scholarly and General Reference at OUP said in the original OED.com press release, "iFactory brought real creativity in design, understanding of user behavior, and engineering savvy."
We are honored to be recognized for our design work on this site, and thrilled to share this award with our friends at OUP. For more information on the BoNE awards and to see the full list of winners, visit http://boneshow.org/
03/2011 : We're headed to London Book Fair, Apr 11-13!
We're setting up appointments and looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces at LBF 2011. If you're interested in hearing exciting updates to PubFactory, the engine behind Oxford English Dictionary Online, Earthscan's MEEP, and IMF's eLibrary, drop us a line!
03/2011 : 2 Days, 2 iFactory webcasts!
What's better than one iFactory webcast? TWO iFactory webcasts! Short, free, and packed with information.
For those in the publishing industry, join iFactory Director of Publishing, Tom Beyer, at 11am EST Tuesday, March 29th for: Create. Configure. Publish! In this 30 minute webcast, Tom will review a single system allowing publishers to create microsites and premium sites with the push of a button.
Interested in something a bit more higher ed focused? Fear not! iFactory President/Creative Director, Alen Yen, delivers Interactive Brand Express! at 12pm EST on Wednesday, March 30th. Find out what it takes for a school to quickly distinguish itself on the Web.
03/2011 : iFactory and Eastern Virginia Medical School Team Up!
Eastern Virginia Medical School seeks to redesign the school's public website and provide a more refined web presence for its various constituents. "We're excited about this new partnership and look forward to working with iFactory on an innovative and efficient solution for our web needs," said Vincent Rhodes, Director of Marketing and Communications for EVMS. more
03/2011 : Earthscan's MEEP wins European Information Association Award 2011!
Congratulations to our friends at Earthscan! iFactory project, the Manual of European Environmental Policy, was the recipient of the European Information Association's 2011 Award for European Information Sources. Read the full release
03/2011 : Berg Fashion Library wins IPG Digital Award!
Congratulations to our friends at Berg Publishers for receiving the Frankfurt Book Fair Digital Award from the Independent Publishers Guild!
03/2011 : SEO Basics: Sean Sweeney's article on MarketingProfs.com!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a common theme of website redesign rojects these days. Many RFPs dedicate an entire section to the topic, which can be quite confusing to those who do not completely understand it. In this article on MarketingProfs.com, Sean defines the "must-knows" of SEO.
01/2011 : iFactory Presents at the CASE D1 Conference in Boston!
iFactory will deliver two sessions and one table seminar at the 2011 CASE District 1 Conference. iFactory presentations include: Website ER, and Delivering Impactful Messaging and Positioning In Under One Minute. Drop us a line at info@ifactory.com, DM us on Twitter or message us on Facebook – we'd love to know if you'll be there! Join us!
01/2011 : Our 2011 webcast series kicks off Tuesday, January 25th with the Role of Mobile in Higher Ed. Join us!
While your school's public-facing website is still an integral and necessary piece of the puzzle, mobile sites have also become an essential part of the higher ed communications strategy. Want to know where to start? Need some insight into the process of developing a higher ed mobile site? Then join us for this free 30 minute iFactory webcast! Join us!
01/2011 : Congratulations to our friends at Berg Publishers!
iFactory project, the Berg Fashion Library, is the winner of a prestigious 2011 Dartmouth Medal! more
01/2011 : iFactory Publishing Team Will Be in Attendance at the ALA Midwinter Meeting January 7-11 in San Diego.
Catch our Publishing Account Manager Marc Segers when he guest speaks at the CQ Press Independent Reference Publishers Group meeting Friday, January 7th from 2-4pm.
12/2010 : iFactory Announces the Launch of the New Oxford English Dictionary Online!
600,000 words...3 million quotations...more than 1,000 years of the English language...the new Oxford English Dictionary Online has launched! [www.oed.com] iFactory, an award-winning digital design and development firm, together with Oxford University Press, is thrilled to announce the revamp of the innovative online iteration of the most authoritative and comprehensive record of the English language. James Gleick noted in the New York Review of Books, "The OED...has evolved into an enterprise of cyberspace, rather than a mere book...the renovation has turned a cottage into a palace." more
12/2010 : Welcome Back to the Factory, Harlan!
We are positively thrilled that Harlan McCanne has returned to our team as Solutions Architect. As a former iFactorian (he served as Director of Engineering from 1996-1997) Harlan brings a high level of business analysis, technical expertise and customer focus to client engagements. During his time away from iFactory, Harlan was co-owner of Illumina Interactive, an internet services company focusing on e-Learning and healthcare. Most recently, he managed the development team at Spire, a marketing services and printing company that provided customized Print-On-Demand solutions for retirement service providers, direct marketeers and international retailers. In this role, he engaged clients to refine their business needs into targeted technical solutions that increased market share and reduced cost.
In his new role as Solutions Architect, Harlan identifies best-value solutions for leveraging iFactory products and skills as they apply to specific client challenges, and improves overall customer experience. We are so happy to have Harlan back on board, and proud to consistently evolve the iFactory team and PubFactory platform by providing our clients with such a high level of experience and talent.
12/2010 : iFactory Announces the Launch of the IMF eLibrary
iFactory, together with the International Monetary Fund, announces the launch of the new IMF eLibrary. PubFactory, iFactory's e-publishing platform, will serve as a complete end-to-end solution, providing a unique combination of both functionality and design. "The IMF generates a wealth of analysis and research on the global economy. The PubFactory platform will make our recent and archived content much more accessible to our audiences," said Sandy Donaldson, Publisher at the IMF. more
11/2010 : iFactory and De Gruyter Team Up!
We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with De Gruyter, one of the world's leading publishers of academic literature. De Gruyter has chosen iFactory, and its revolutionary e-publishing platform, PubFactory. iFactory's expertise is the development of publishing platforms of all types and scales, tailored to support publishers as their businesses transform in the evolving e-publishing age. "In the rapidly changing environment of scientific publishing, it is important to find new solutions ensuring convenient access to our content. We are looking forward to this collaboration with iFactory, considering it is the best partner for our requirements," said Sven Fund, CEO of De Gruyter. more
11/2010 : iFactory is exhibiting at the 2010 Online Conference in London. Let us know if you'll be there – we'd love to see you!
10/2010 : Tom Beyer, Director of Publishing, and Marc Segers, Publishing Account Manager, Will Each be Speaking at the Annual Charleston Conference November 3-6th. Hope to See You There! more
10/2010 : Two iFactory Projects Selected as Finalists for the 2010 MITX
Interactive Awards!
10/2010 : SAGE and iFactory Launch Open Beta of SAGE Research Methods Online
SRMO (srmo.sagepub.com) provides advanced search and discovery tools to support researchers and students as they explore relevant content across the social and behavioral sciences, covering quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.
"SRMO combines world-leading content from a broad range of sources – books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, journals, videos – with a truly unique search and discovery solution which we think is going to offer everyone from new students to advanced researchers a really useful service," said Martha Sedgwick, Senior Manager, Online Products, SAGE. "We've had an incredibly positive response from both librarians and faculty since we opened the Beta version of SRMO, and their feedback during this period will enable us to enhance the platform even further." more
09/2010 : iFactory Designs and Develops the New University of Virginia Darden School of Business Website
The Darden School of Business improves society by developing principled leaders for the world of practical affairs. iFactory was charged with creating a website which is reflective of Darden's incredible reputation. It was not just a matter of developing cutting-edge and relevant features, but how to integrate them into the larger picture.
"The new website gives Darden a 'front-door' that invites visitors in to experience the magic that makes us so special," said Maureen Wellen, Darden Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives and Website Project Manager. "The outstanding design and features that iFactory created gives visitors a real sense of Darden, and illustrates that we are a world class business school." more
09/2010 : iFactory Launches the New University of Illinois at Chicago Website
UIC is one of the top 50 research-funded institutions in the nation offering the cultural, business and entertainment opportunities of a world-class city. The University worked with iFactory to develop a new site that highlights the School's diverse offerings and one-of-a-kind academic experience.
"We wanted a website that captured the character of the University and the student," said Kevin B. Tynan, Executive Director for Marketing & Communications for UIC. "We wanted [one] which was strategic and embedded a marketing plan that could continuously help us achieve our goals. iFactory delivered on all counts." more
09/2010 : iFactory Designs and Develops the Berg Fashion Library
From dance costumes in French Polynesia to runway couture in New York, the Berg Fashion Library spans the globe and the centuries to uncover the vastness of world dress. Distributed by Oxford University Press, the Berg Fashion Library (www.bergfashionlibrary.com) is a collaboration between Berg Publishers and iFactory, an award-winning web design and development firm based in Boston.
"We are very excited by what iFactory has achieved with the Berg Fashion Library. They have not only successfully implemented our vision, but they have worked with us as true partners to make it so much more than we imagined," said Kathryn Earle, Managing Director, Berg Publishers. more
09/2010 : iFactory Art Director, Jeremy Perkins' Article Featured on BostInnovation.com more
09/2010 : iFactory Launches Eight New Sites in the Past Two Weeks! Among Them, the Berg Fashion Library, Earthscan's Manual of European Environmental Policy, and University of Illinois at Chicago. Stay Tuned for Further Details!
09/2010 : iFactory Exhibiting at the AMA's Virtual Event on September 22nd. Free Site Audits for All Passersby!
09/2010 : iFactory and Earthscan Launch the Manual of European Environmental Policy!
Earthscan selected PubFactory as its official online publishing platform for the development of EarthLibrary and working with iFactory on the Manual has been an important step towards the final product. The online Manual is the first microsite of EarthLibrary, an online platform that will eventually include all of Earthscan's books and journals as well as content published by our partner organizations.
08/2010 : iFactory and OUP Once Again Team Up and Launch the 41st Edition of the SIPRI Yearbook – Built on iFactory's ePublishing Platform, PubFactory
08/2010 : iFactory Teams Up with Oxford University Press on the Relaunch of the New Oxford English Dictionary Online
"The OED has been a pioneering digital project," said Robert Faber, Editorial Director, Scholarly and General Reference at OUP. "Building a new version is a great opportunity to present the information locked in the OED database in what we believe is a much more accessible, dynamic, and productive way, while maintaining its reliability and scholarly authority. iFactory has been great to work with on such a core project – they bring real creativity in design, understanding of user behaviour, and engineering savvy, but also understand the importance and value of the OED to its many readers, and to OUP." more
07/2010 : iFactory's Work with Bloomsbury Academic Mentioned in the NYTimes!
07/2010 : iFactory's Publishing Account Manager, Marc Segers, Covers Recurring Conversation Topics in an ALA Conference Wrap-up
07/2010 : Alen Yen, iFactory President/Creative Director, to Speak at eduWEB 2010
The web has become one of the most powerful relationship-building tools in higher education. As budgets tighten, it becomes even more critical to ensure a visitor's user experience is positive and strengthens the institution's brand affinity. Delivering brand messages does not need to be an arduous process. In this session, we'll walk you through a series of case studies, and present creative executions of website user interface best practices.
Join us for this Topic Table session, Empowering Your Brand on the Web on Tuesday, July 27th. We hope to see you in Chicago!
06/2010 : iFactory and Oxford University Press Partner on the Design of the Newly Launched Oxford Bibliographies Online
06/2010 : What's Your Action Plan? Check out this iFactory Webinar on our
YouTube Channel
What do you want visitors to do when they visit your website? How can you actively guide their behavior? One way to map a user's journey on your site is through strategically placed calls-to-action. In this short, iFactory webinar, we walk you through a few examples that highlight the do's and don'ts around calls-to-action. You'll learn how to update your own site to guide your users and get them what they need.
View the webinar on our YouTube channel
06/2010 : Headed to DC for ALA10?
We'd love to see you and demo PubFactory for you – we've got exciting developments to share. Connect with us and we'll set up an appointment!
05/2010 : iFactory and Oxford University Press Launch Free and Subscriber Oxford Dictionaries Online
iFactory is pleased to announce the launch of Oxford Dictionaries Online, free and subscriber sites. The selection of PubFactory for Oxford Dictionaries Online continues a long-standing relationship between iFactory and OUP. Among some of the Web design and development projects where OUP has partnered with iFactory are Oxford Bibliographies Online, Oxford Language Dictionaries Online, Oxford Biblical Studies Online, which received an APA PROSE Award for "Best in Reference Works," and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which received an International Information Industry Award for "Best User Experience." more
05/2010 : iFactory's Marc Segers to Speak at the Society for Scholarly Publishing on June 2nd
We hope to see you at SSP 2010 Annual Conference. Let us know if you'll be there!
Re-inventing Reference: This is NOT Your Grandmother's Encyclopedia!
Reference works must be engaging if they're going to useful or profitable. Mash-ups, data visualizations, search technologies, and APIs now enable publishers and end-users to recombine content – engage with – and derive value from, materials that have previously existed in static circumscription. But how should publishers be investing in their reference content? Can they unlock the value of relationships found in and between their previously published works? How can they make their content more accessible to end-users or combine content, technology, and user interactions together to create a compelling, and complete, reference environment? See how publishers are revitalizing their approach to reference offerings. Then, consider new ways to expose, deploy, and derive new value from your [re-invented] reference content. Track: Technology
Moderator: Ann Michael, Principal Consultant, Delta Think, LLC
Speakers:
Alix Vance, Founder/Principal, Principal/Founder of Architrave Consulting, LLC
Chris Beckett, Vice President of Business Development, Atypon
Marc Segers, Publishing Account Manager, iFactory
Mike Sweet, CEO, Credo Reference
05/2010 : PubFactory Demos at BookExpo America
Looking forward to BookExpo America May 25th-27th! Connect with us to arrange a meeting!
05/2010 : iFactory and MarkLogic Team Up!
iFactory, an award-winning web design and development firm, is thrilled to announce that it recently entered into an OEM Agreement with MarkLogic, a leading provider of information infrastructure software.
Through this agreement, iFactory will provide the benefits of an enterprise level XML database/search engine, and offer it within the context of PubFactory, the revolutionary new publishing platform from iFactory. more
05/2010 : PubFactory, Sponsor at Mark Logic User Conference
We're sponsoring the Mark Logic User Conference in San Francisco, May 4-6, 2010. We hope to see you there!
04/2010 : Earthscan Chooses PubFactory to Develop its EarthLibrary
iFactory, an award-winning web design and development firm, and Earthscan, the world's leading publisher on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology, are proud to announce their partnership to develop EarthLibrary. Earthscan selected PubFactory as its official online publishing platform for Earthscan content, and the development of EarthLibary.
"EarthLibrary is a significant, strategic development for Earthscan, one that will enable our publishing to meet the needs of our markets around the world more effectively in the future. We were impressed with the experience, capabilities and responsiveness of iFactory and we look forward to a close collaboration with them in delivering the new platform," said Jonathan Sinclair Wilson, Earthscan's Managing Director. more
04/2010 : iFactory Project, Modern Language Association's Literary Research Guide, Was Awarded a 2009 APA PROSE Award
The Modern Language Association, a professional association of English and foreign language professors, worked with iFactory to develop a searchable online version of its Literary Research Guide, an indispensable reference for the study of literature in English.
The interactive site, based on the fifth print edition, allows users to search over 1,000 annotations of reference sources in English literary studies, including books, articles, and electronic resources. Updated regularly, the online guide features a "My Projects" tool for saving searches and writing notes about search results. more
03/2010 : Web-Metrics Express: What You Need to Know to Avoid Mistakes
Looking for ways to use your website metrics but don't know where to begin? iFactory Strategist, Pete Gaioni, approaches Web analytics as a three-step process in his article, featured on MarketingProfs.com
03/2010 : Does Your School's Website Need a Makeover? Thank You for Joining our Free iFactory Webinar on March 31st!
In this 60 minute webinar, the first in an iFactory series, we walked our participants through an actual site audit for a client – a prestigious higher ed institution – and showcased the evolution that can occur in a matter of weeks. By taking a look at the school's original website, we gave a sense of what can and should be improved upon, then jumped to the refreshed website, to review what changes were implemented.
Our participants walked away with the tools necessary to review their site's content, and determine whether a temporary refresh, or a complete redesign, should be considered.
Future iFactory webinars will focus on:
- incorporating strategy into your digital initiatives
- the value of design as it applies to your communications
- industry-specific case studies
- recent technology and how it affects you
If you're interested in participating in one or all of the webinars in this exciting series, contact us! We're happy to send you an invite.
Cost is free, and the value is immeasurable.
02/2010 : PubFactory at Tools of Change Conference, Feb 22-24, NYC
Tom Beyer, iFactory Director of Publishing, showcased the custom publishing feature of our online publishing platform, PubFactory, at this year's Tools of Change Conference in New York City. Frances Pinter, iFactory client, and Publisher at Bloomsbury Academic, also featured PubFactory in her keynote, "Rethinking the Role and Funding of Academic Book Publishing."
02/2010 : Two iFactory Projects Receive APA PROSE Awards
We are pleased to announce that two of our clients' websites were recipients of the esteemed PROSE award, the American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. We look forward to sharing details soon. Read more about the Prose Awards.
02/2010 : Bryn Mawr College Rejuvenated Site Launches
iFactory, together with Bryn Mawr College, has launched the School's refreshed website. Bryn Mawr, a liberal arts college located in Pennsylvania, is dedicated to teaching critical, creative, and independent habits of thought and expression in an undergraduate curriculum for women, and a graduate program in the arts and sciences, social work, and social research.
The Bryn Mawr Communications team, along with iFactory, began work on the project in the Fall of 2009. The most compelling improvements to the site can be seen on the homepage. Headers and footers have been altered to allow for ease of navigation, as well as access to social media links; a new color scheme better incorporates the College's colors, yellow and white; key messages along with relevant and rotating imagery can be found in a large, central area; and navigation has been adjusted to allow for a more user-friendly experience. more
01/2010 : Oxford University Press Chooses PubFactory
iFactory is thrilled to announce that Oxford University Press has chosen iFactory's new publishing development platform, PubFactory, to develop Oxford Dictionaries Online, a new global modern English dictionary and language reference service. OUP, a major provider of online reference and scholarly content libraries, turned to iFactory for this project because of its unique focus on design and custom development capabilities.
The selection of PubFactory for Oxford Dictionaries Online continues a long-standing relationship between iFactory and OUP. Among some of the Web design and development projects where OUP has partnered with iFactory are Oxford Biblical Studies Online, Oxford Language Dictionaries Online, and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which received an International Information Industry Award for "Best User Experience."
10/2009 : MGH Institute of Health Professions
The mission of the MGH Institute of Health Professions, a graduate school founded by Massachusetts General Hospital, is to educate health care professionals to become leaders in their disciplines. When the Institute first approached iFactory, it was looking to redesign its Website that compelled prospective student visitors to inquire, and ultimately apply to one of the Institute's academic programs. The new site needed to:
- Be user-centric
- Have easy and intelligent navigation
- Provide effective online inquiry form and applications
- Spotlight distinctiveness of students, faculty, alumni, programs, etc.
By engaging stakeholders throughout the Institute, iFactory was able to get a complete picture of who the Institute is, both technically and emotionally, which led to a visual communication style that really conveyed the spirit of the Institute and clarified the navigation and structure of the site based on the end users' priorities and all the strengths of the organization that the stakeholders and students already know but were not reflected on the previous site.
The MGH Institute of Health Professions Website can be found here: http://www.mghihp.edu/.
08/2009 : The Wharton MBA Program
The Wharton MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania engaged iFactory to "engage the user and deliver the experience of the strength and defining leadership of the MBA program." The goal was to create a bolder web presence for the MBA program, and also to "improve the overall usability of the site." iFactory was tasked with the IA, design, specifications, and Flash for the site, which was handed off to Wharton for HTML production and CMS integration.
After conducting user interviews and attending Wharton's "Winter Welcome" to get a feel for the MBA program, iFactory began to redesign the site. Several rounds of Site Maps and Wireframes quickly established the new structure of the site, and a Functional Specification helped lock down the proposed functionality for all features on the wireframes.
After the page elements were established, the design team swung into action. Numerous concepts for the new site were proposed, refined, and developed to create the overall aesthetic for the site. Through close collaboration with the Wharton MBA and marketing teams, we planned out a stronger and more functional web site that communicated the transformative nature of the Wharton MBA program.
Notable features of the new site include:
- A custom-built homepage with unique Flash interface from iFactory
- A Flash-based Experience Gallery providing images and video that illustrate life at Wharton:
- A Student Profiles gallery designed by iFactory
- A custom-designed, interactive illustration of the Wharton MBA curriculum
To learn more about the Wharton MBA site and to click around iFactory's design, please visit the Wharton MBA web site at: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/
08/2009 : Harvard Education Letter (HEL)
The Harvard Education Letter is one of three sites living under the umbrella of the Harvard Education Publishing Group (HEPG). The other two sites are Harvard Education Press (HEP) and Harvard Educational Review (HER). iFactory is pursuing its great partnership with HEPG, and with this latest deployment, HEPG's online assets have now been fully redesigned and integrated on top of the iFactory CMS
The newly designed HEL site can be found at http://www.hepg.org/main/hel/Index.html.
08/2009 : Vista Higher Learning
iFactory is proud to announce the launch of the Vista Higher Learning (VHL) website. VHL is focused on raising the teaching and learning of world languages to a higher level. When VHL approached iFactory, the organization was looking for a redesigned site that offered an improved user experience for visitors that need to find quality information quickly in order to take the next step in the buying decision process. With this, iFactory aimed to establish a look-and-feel that reflected the VHL brand.
The redesigned Vista Higher Learning site can be found at http://www.vistahigherlearning.com.
08/2009 : RSA Conference
RSA Conference events are some of the most well-known events for the information security industry in the world, with conferences held in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. However, the organization offers more than just events and was looking for a partner that could redesign its website to convey that message. They turned to iFactory to develop a new site that more effectively combined the event-specific details they needed with the year-round information to give users a rich experience and a better understanding of what the organization has to offer outside of its annual conferences.
Redesigned by iFactory, the recently launched RSA Conference website brings new engaging features and truly conveys the innovative and leadership qualities of the organization.
The redesigned RSA Conference Website can be found at http://www.rsaconference.com.
08/2009 : Collaboration for Home Care Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP)
iFactory welcomes the newly designed site for CHAMP, the Collaboration for Home Care Advances in Management and Practice and has been improving geriatric home care nationally for the past three years via educational programs in medication and pain management for frontline nurse managers.
Developed by iFactory, the new CHAMP website includes an interactive Community of Practice and is the first online national forum to motivate and support quality improvement efforts by home care organizations and other interested stakeholders. It is a place where members can share success stories, strategies, and experiences in advancing home care excellence, as well as ask questions and receive periodic advice from experts across a variety of home care topics. The new site also includes a Resources section, with a Netflix-like rating system and the ability for users to add reviews for the tools.
For a better look at the new CHAMP website, please visit: http://www.champ-program.org/.
07/2009 : Harvard Business School Executive Education
iFactory is pleased to announce the recent release of the new Harvard Business School Executive Education website. For the redesigned site, iFactory incorporated a dynamic Flash component to the homepage, and added improved program navigation options such as quick search on the homepage, as well as a full Program Finder which lets visitors to the site quickly filter down to the programs that are of interest to them. Additionally, the site’s pre-existing campus virtual tour was reconfigured to specifically focus on the HBS Executive Education program.
To experience the redesigned Harvard Business School Executive Education Website in-depth, visit: http://www.exed.hbs.edu/
07/2009 : Wyss Institute Site Launches
When the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering hired iFactory to design their new website, they requested that the site provide a "continuous flow of news items, major advances, awards, honors, industrial alliances and products, and clinical impact." The goal was to create a web presence that showed the general public about the exciting possibilities of the science.
Through close collaboration with the Wyss Institute, we developed the design of the site, focused on the idea of a "museum wall" on the homepage to showcase the science from the institute through a series of images. The user is able to "walk down" the wall by clicking to bring images closer, thus drawing them into the site and the mission of the institute.
Unique designs for the Team page, Faculty bios, and a multimedia library demonstrate the wide range of disciplines and experience within the Institute. A unique tagging system allows Wyss Institute to tag any media item (image, video, or audio) so pages can display related items. The user can thus see subtle connections between seemingly unrelated subjects, and explore a multimedia library with images, audio and video from Institute members.
Wyss updates the site using iFactory's customizable CMS. They can post news items, events, rich media and content, at will. Admin screens were fine-tuned to match the unique content on the website. For example, the Wyss Institute can control the Flash element on the homepage through a series of text boxes and fields, rather than having to edit the XML by hand.
To explore the exciting science currently being created by the Wyss Institute, please visit their website at: http://wyss.harvard.edu