iJournal Website
A colorful, digital solution for UW informatics club, iJournal, featuring a variety of student articles, illustrations, and curated annual journals.
Timeline
6 weeks
Team
Kai Barnum
Joy Li
Roles
Creative Direction
UI/UX Design
Tools
Figma
Framer
Project Overview
As Digital Design Director of iJournal, I was tasked with designing a website that embodied the club's energy and sense of community stemming from their logo, the fig. With myself being the designer who conceived the club's visual identity, the website was a natural extension from the logo and color system that I originally came up with.
Additionally, I worked closely with another interaction designer, Joy, who I interviewed alongside iJournal's other Design Director, and brought her on to the team to support the construction of the CMS system and website assets given our narrow timeline.
Website Open Loader
Before reaching the landing page, the user is greeted with this friendly jumping fig. As part of the iJournal's mission, they aim for everyone to feel welcomed in their warm and comforting community. This microanimation serves as a reminder for what iJournal stands for and embodies as a club.
Landing Page
The landing page starts with a repeating fig pattern to reinforce the club's branding while subtly including the Sylvia Plath quote that the club's visual identity was built around. This page also includes a sneak peek at the student published articles that are all available on the website.
Journals Page
This page serves as the home for each of the annual journals which feature curated selections throughout the year of iJournal's favorite student article submissions. Each edition features a custom cover illustration and can be viewed through Adobe PDF viewer at no cost to any of iJournal's readers.
Article Example
Every student submission is unique in its own right which is why each article features custom illustrations weaved in throughout the reading experience. The article system was constructed using a CMS system to ensure consistency across the website while allowing for customization with the images and text inputs.
Reflection
The timeline for the website was very tight when factoring in the time it took to seek out and hire an additional designer. The process felt somewhat like trying to fly an airplane while building it at the same time. Despite these challenges, I'm extremely proud of the final product and know that the website will only continue to grow with the club's expanding interest level and increasing submissions.
Full Website
Check out the live version of the full website here!