Colleges of the Fenway

The Three-Month Miracle

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION

Change for good

The Colleges of the Fenway (COF) is a consortium of five neighboring four-year private colleges and universities in the Fenway area of Boston. With the new school year fast approaching and a school departing the consortium, they faced a big time crunch in terms of higher ed web design. The COF team wanted to quickly modernize its web presence as an urban and relevant resource for enrolled students by showcasing cross registration in participating colleges, local events, and funding opportunities. By working with them, we were able to pull it off.

Prioritizing MVP

A lean launch

Prior to redesign, COF’s main value propositions, cross-registration opportunities and student events, were invisible on the site. After identifying these requirements as a minimum viable product, we condensed the project timeline by combining IA/UX, design, and content deliverables into a series of in-person working sessions.

The Power of Testimonials

Student to student

We created a visual grid on the homepage to show the connection and cross-registration opportunities at the participating colleges and designed a COF Voices section to highlight student stories, outcomes, and involvement. We also extended the COF brand colors and typefaces to create the new site’s urban feel.