RIT websites among W3 ‘best of the Web’

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RIT Production Services

The RIT Commencement website was one of three sites recognized by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and presented with a 2015 W3 gold award for website design.

For the fourth year in a row, RIT Production Services was recognized for its website designs, this year taking home a gold statuette and two silver awards in the 2015 W³ design competition. Presented by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, the awards recognize outstanding websites, Web marketing, video, mobile sites, apps and social media content created by interactive agencies, designers and creators worldwide.

More than 5,000 entries were received this year. RIT’s winners included:

• RIT Commencement website: Gold Award
• RIT Inn & Conference Center website: Silver Award
• RIT Better Me website: Silver Award

The RIT Commencement website redesign included a searchable list of graduates that allows families to easily locate the correct ceremonies to attend, online volunteer registration, ceremony video streaming and a live Twitter feed. All three websites were built using Drupal Content Management System and include a mobile friendly design.

“We couldn’t be happier with the ease of navigation, organization and design of the new Commencement website,” said Sue Provenzano, assistant vice president for academic affairs at RIT. “The redesign allows both internal and external users to gain information about commencement any time, any place, on all sorts of devices.”

The RIT Better Me website was updated with a database of wellness classes and programs, along with resources on staying healthy. The RIT Inn & Conference Center website added a photography showcase, online room reservations and facility details, including menus and customization options.

“The RIT Production Services team listened, made recommendations and ultimately provided a site that exceeded our expectations both in its depiction of the business and the functional role it plays in our marketing efforts,” said K. William Gunther, managing director at the RIT Inn & Conference Center.

Contributors to these projects include: The Wallace Center and RIT Production Services Staff; Megan Bastian, Web designer; Kirk Bater, Web developer/programmer; Joseph Geraci, Web developer/programmer; Elizabeth Lamark, Photography Services supervisor; Vasilios Anton, Web developer; Chao Luo, Web designer; and Raman Bhalla, assistant director Web/IT Services.

“These websites are a result of a lot of collaboration between clients, web designers, web developers and photographers,” said Bhalla. “Being recognized by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts is terrific marketplace acknowledgment of the websites being produced at RIT.”

A complete list of winning entries can be found at the W3 Awards website.