Build something newsworthy.

The Loyola Today homepage design with three articles visible.
Wordpress Development
Web Design
UX Research
UX & UI Design
Industry
Education
Year
2024
Students in their graduation gowns throwing their caps in the air.
A Space to reflect

Envisioning Justice is an initiative that leverages the arts and humanities to envision alternatives to the enduring injustice of mass incarceration. Envisioning Justice needed an impactful way to tell their unique story and showcase their artworks, resources, and materials. To achieve this, we created a design-focused digital space that reflected upon the artwork and promoted awareness around the inequities of the carceral state.

The Challenge

Showcasing the latest and greatest.

Loyola’s communications team had a wealth of content, but no centralized home that reflected the university’s prestige and breadth. Their stories were buried across platforms, hard to find, and lacked visual cohesion. The existing newsroom’s outdated interface was holding back engagement, discoverability, and user experience. They needed a modern platform that was just as impressive as the stories it held. One that worked for students, faculty, alumni, and media alike.
Loyola news articles and media mentions on the campus news site
The Process

A hierarchy that highlights.

We restructured the site’s architecture to emphasize priority content. Featured stories, timely updates, and long-form magazine content now have distinct spaces, letting users immediately see what’s most important and relevant.
Filtered campus life content for prospective students

Designed for all.

We implemented thoughtful UX strategies to ensure that users of all types—whether prospective students, alumni, or faculty—could intuitively navigate the site and easily find and engage with content tailored specifically to their needs.
Loyola article and video stories about spring on campus

Flexible and visual.

With content flowing in from various sources and authors, flexibility was key. We built dynamic templates that supported high-res photography, embedded video, and even magazine-like scroll effects—while staying true to Loyola’s brand.
Loyola News email featuring graduates of the Class of 2025

Optimized to perform.

Technical enhancements, including batched loading and improved backend workflows, drastically reduced load times and improved admin efficiency. Authors can now publish with more control and less friction.
Loyola commencement ceremony with graduates in maroon caps and gowns

Integrated and future-proof.

We synced the content hub with Loyola’s newsletter tool (Poppulo) to simplify content distribution. Future-facing features like video post types, scroll position memory, and enhanced search ensure the site can scale with the team’s ambitions.
The Process

A hierarchy that highlights.

We restructured the site’s architecture to emphasize priority content. Featured stories, timely updates, and long-form magazine content now have distinct spaces, letting users immediately see what’s most important and relevant.

Designed for all.

We implemented thoughtful UX strategies to ensure that users of all types—whether prospective students, alumni, or faculty—could intuitively navigate the site and easily find and engage with content tailored specifically to their needs.

Flexible and visual.

With content flowing in from various sources and authors, flexibility was key. We built dynamic templates that supported high-res photography, embedded video, and even magazine-like scroll effects—while staying true to Loyola’s brand.

Optimized to perform.

Technical enhancements, including batched loading and improved backend workflows, drastically reduced load times and improved admin efficiency. Authors can now publish with more control and less friction.

Integrated and future-proof.

We synced the content hub with Loyola’s newsletter tool (Poppulo) to simplify content distribution. Future-facing features like video post types, scroll position memory, and enhanced search ensure the site can scale with the team’s ambitions.
Loyola news articles and media mentions on the campus news site
Filtered campus life content for prospective students
Loyola article and video stories about spring on campus
Loyola News email featuring graduates of the Class of 2025
Loyola commencement ceremony with graduates in maroon caps and gowns
The Solution

With Loyola Today, the university now has a modern news platform that reflects the prestige and dynamism of its content. The site invites users to explore, get inspired, and stay informed. The new platform makes Loyola’s stories as resonant online as they are in real life.

Key Process Solution
Distinct spaces for feature stories, magazine content, and daily news
Simplified navigation and filtering for multi-audience use
Content-forward design with flexible modules and media integration
Improved speed and backend usability to streamline content creation
Key Features
Scroll memory for uninterrupted browsing
Clickable images and external links by default
Integration with Photoshelter for photo galleries
Magazine-ready layouts with parallax and dropcaps
Back-end tagging and metadata enhancements (Yoast AI, autofill authors)
Collage of multiple Loyola University Chicago website pages, showcasing student stories, expert features, news articles, videos, and campus life content.
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