University revamps CMU.edu homepage

Carnegie Mellon’s official website has received a facelift.

Visitors to the site’s homepage are now greeted with a redesign that continues to feature news related to the university and links to sections of the website such as research, admissions, and student life.

However, the new page features larger graphics and a more modern aesthetic that allows the user to scroll through stories and information in a clear hierarchy. The university’s website was last redesigned in 2009, with the new homepage created by a team within the university.

Amanda Berneburg, senior associate director of online strategy for marketing and communications, described the goals of the redesign process as “a way to tell the CMU story in a modern way.” Berneburg emphasized that the new design is more compatible with mobile devices and is also structured “to touch upon many of the strategic priorities Dr. Suresh has spoken about.”

The homepage now contains links to portions of the website devoted to Carnegie Mellon’s global presence, as well as a list of links discussing the university’s strategic initiatives including the Simon Initiative, Brain Hub, the new Tepper Quadrangle, and others.

Berneburg called Carnegie Mellon’s homepage “the university’s front door to the world,” and explained that “this is meant to be an interim design.” She explained that the university is planning many further improvements and updates to portions of the website, though the details of a timeline or specific plans have not yet been made public.

Some portions of the website, such as those for admissions and university news, still contain pages in the same style as the previous homepage design. Berneburg said that the overall website redesign is an ongoing initiative, and that the news section of the website would be the next section to receive a design change.