Also, if you’d like to say one last goodbye to the old site, there will be a memorial service at tomorrow’s general meeting.

Note: The e-mail you are about to read contains vulgar language and can be regarded as disrespectful to the university. It should be known that the e-mail originated from its author, Geoff Thibeau, and may not represent Underground Graphics’ opinion as a student organization. User discretion is advised.

Where do I start?
This re-design is absolute garbage; it’s an embarrassment of the community and the state. I’d expect this from some ’90s community college with $500 for web development. Are you really that far removed from society that you can’t recognize a failure when you see it?

Firstly, the old web design was ridiculously better than what you have now. It represented Tech as a clean, organized, and friendly university. The vomit you have now could have been designed by a freshman in high school (that’s a generous estimate).

Let’s address the “improvements” listed on the page entitled Welcome to the New Louisiana Tech Webiste. I’m glad you spell-check your publications.

0. That first paragraph is bullshit. No visual enhancements anywhere. I’ll address the features below, as presented on the site.

1. Tech Quicklinks: This is a 15-20 minute development that can be added to any website, and doesn’t require a complete redesign.
2. Google Custom Search: Oh wow. You’ve implemented search technology provided by an outside source. I bet that took 5-10 minutes at most, since Google generates everything for you. Again, redesign not required to implement.
3. Apply Now: You already had that on the other site. How is that a new feature? Thank you for insulting my memory.
4. BOSS, Webmail, Blackboard links: Okay, so you put links on the home-page so I don’t have to click twice. But guess what, when people access BOSS or Blackboard, they usually just type it in their browser’s URL bar. I personally use an IMAP client to access my e-mail, and I know a lot of other students/faculty do as well. And those who don’t, usually know to type it in the URL bar just like BOSS and Blackboard.
5. Calendar of Events: I’m pretty sure this was already on the old site as well. And if it wasn’t, there are a lot of features missing on the calendar that would be useful. One example is a subscription link, so I can use a standards-compliant client to view the events, instead of having to open the calendar page that only shows one week at a time.
6. Campus Information Box: We’ll just have to see what this is all about, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be anything awesome, judging by your record so far.
7. RSS: Okay, so your first new feature. Except I can’t really credit you there, because like so many other “features” listed above, the website didn’t need to be redesigned for this.
8. Emergency Alert Notification: This could be useful. Best thing you have on the list.
9. Navigation and aesthetic consistency: I understand this concern, but #10 is so awful that no one will really notice #9.
10. Visual Presentation: My honest initial reaction, along with multiple students and alumni I have shared the new web design with, was “What the fuck?” Everything is so intuitively backwards it’s astonishing. Clicking the main header/logo does nothing (when, conventionally, this would bring me to the home-page). And speaking of the logo, I’m pretty sure you’re violating your own branding standards by placing text behind it. For the sub-pages, you remove the text from behind the logo, but add a drop shadow. That is absolutely hilarious, and pitiful. If you’re going to break the rules, at least do it well.

    The blue is overwhelming. I want to punch it in the face, just to see if it’ll change colors. And white navigation links? Where did you read that that was a good idea? How about researching legibility best practices?

    The Apply Now button is laughable. I won’t be surprised if enrollment decreases because of this redesign. That is a “Web 2.0″ aesthetic (and a dated one, at that). Universities are not, and should not, be anything related to “Web 2.0,” which is content generated by a generic user. You’re a bureaucracy, an establishment, an apparatus of the government. Quit the bullshit, and stop trying to be something you’re not.

    I’ll stop there. It’s just too much.

I will take a moment to express my gratitude for developing a somewhat standards-compliant SHTML experience. Most of the markup is valid and intuitive, however I can still see you’re clinging to tables ever so slightly. Tables are for representing tabular data, and nothing else. So don’t slap a DIV around it and call it awesome. Most of the markup, like I said, is standards-compliant and will greatly benefit the blind community at Tech. It could be much better, but at least you’re making progress.

But then you fall short and don’t include a style-sheet for print or mobile devices.

I’m utterly embarrassed, as of this redesign, to consider myself a future graduate of this university. And I will continue to spread this to my fellow students, faculty, and alumni. Expect more complaints. And next time, ask for assistance.

Sincerely disappointed,
Geoff Thibeau
Communication Design Major at Louisiana Tech University
gjt004@latech.edu

It is my understanding that hardly anyone uses the website. And those that do visit are often frequenting on Thursdays, which is not surprising. Also, although greatly appreciated, most of the blog posts are completely unrelated and discontinuous in nature.

So in an effort to repackage and tame this bolt-necked creature, I’d like to welcome the awesome. Bring it on as if it were a Teen Choice and MTV award nominee about cheer leading. Suggest new features, or spit upon the unpopular ones. Feel free to use references/examples as well.

To start, I’ll share what’s been on my mind:

1. A dedicated area for upcoming events and reminders, aside from the calendar page
2. Guest contributors who are professional designers and/or faculty
3. UG2 Review posts, like this one, that spark dialogue about websites, print pieces, or user submissions (student portfolio reviews!)
4. Weekly Q&A from professionals and/or faculty
5. Weekly/biweekly design competitions
6. Website staff, who collaborate on interesting topics, and post weekly textures and tips

Suggestions are open to the public; membership is not required.