CSU East Bay
Like a lot of continuing education units, CSU East Bay was at a crossroads. Its offerings and value proposition had evolved and grown, but you wouldn't know it from its online presence, its brand, or its internal processes. They knew an investment was needed, and initially looked to an enterprise customer relationship management tool, along with a refreshed website, as the answer.
“The project was transformative. The entire student experience and communication process blends seamlessly. The result is a big home run.”
Our discovery at CSU East Bay involved on-site interviews with staff, faculty, and students, user research, and market & competitive analysis. We uncovered a variety of interwoven brand, positioning, recruiting, and technology challenges. It was also clear that no work on a new website should begin until both branding and recruiting methodology were resolved. Branding would drive both the visual identity and content, while recruiting methodology would tell the CRM what "job" it was being hired to do. The website would be an important manifestation of both strategies.
Using a "content-out" approach, the team's writer created copy to support the desired market positioning, putting the student's perspective at the center, and backing claims with proof points, outcomes, and testimonials. I created the sites' information architecture and visual design in support of these student drivers. Recruiting funnels and comm plans made clear how and where the site needed to support the intentional process of taking a lead and nurturing that lead to conversion by passing it to Salesforce.
The visual and experience design offered an opportunity to welcome the CE student "through the front door," with a site that reflected the investment they were about to make. The visual design likewise supported the positioning strategy, leapfrogging competitors' offerings in visual appeal, ease of use, and richness of content.
We also designed a custom, highly intuitive shopping cart on top of Peoplesoft, hiding what otherwise is a daunting and confusing process behind a simple, on-brand user experience. The design of the shopping cart required the accommodation of complex administrative Peoplesoft workflows that could not be changed. Good design is frequently the result of working around constraints, and this was definitely a case where this applied.
Upon launch, CSU East Bay saw a 700% increase in leads generated through the site in its first year with an additional 168% growth in the second year. CSUEB continues to refine their internal roles and workflows to maximize the conversion of these leads.
Role
Strategist
Researcher
Designer
Key Deliverables
Strategy Report
User Research
Web Design
Service Blueprint
Marketing Email Templates
Print Collateral
Information Architecture
Training and Support
CSU East Bay's new site is mobile-first.
A detail from an email template designed in support of the recruiting funnel and communications plans created in Salesforce.
I designed a custom shopping cart UX/UI that presents a friendly face and still talks to Peoplesoft.
Detail view of a service blueprint showing the "as is" info session experience.