GradX
Virtual Graduate Exhibition
Swinburne university school of design
The Brief
create a website design to exhibit student work for Swinburne’s annual design graduates exhibition, GradX. The website needs to let the work become the hero of the site, not letting website design elements get in the way of the student’s work but still making it easy to navigate and find student work on the site.
The website needs to incorporate the 2021 theme for the exhibition, Resilience. The branding for the rest of the exhibition will also reflect this theme.
The website must be impactful and let the work stand out to the university and broader design industry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the website is being published in place of the annual physical exhibition held at Swinburne. making it the main format for viewing graduating student’s work.
The Solution
The solution to this brief was to create a design system which could be used in two forms. On pages where the exhibition was the focus and users were being drawn in to explore more of the exhibits, the design needed to be bold, striking and clear, making sure the user knows where they are and what they are looking at. On pages where student work was being showcased, the design of the website was to take a backseat, fading into the background so the user would forget it was there and focus all their attention on the work being exhibited. This needed to be done while still making the exhibition feel consistent and cohesive throughout the site.
GradX 2021 – Resilience Trailer, Designed by Swinburne Design Bureau
When designing the elements used throughout, it was key to consider how each design element might be used in a bold and powerful element on the page, drawing attention to the exhibitors and broad range of disciplines, while then using the same elements in a more subdued manner when used alongside student work. Overall the process lead to a really cohesive site with a strong identity throughout, which brought student work to the forefront of the exhibition.
GradX Home Page
GradX Discipline Page
GradX Student Exhibition Page
CLIENT:
Swinburne University of Technology – School of Design and Architecture
TEAM:
Rohan Gerrard (UX Designer)
Dr Jane Connory (Exhibition Director)
Swinburne Design Bureau (Motion Graphics)
Simon Mundy – Peptolab (Web Developer)
Bronte Olander (Resilience Branding)
Caitlin Xavier (Resilience Branding)
DELIVERABLES:
Website Design
High Fidelity Prototypes
TIMEFRAME:
2 Weeks