Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship

Railyard 2020 / Research, Brand Strategy, Visual Design, Website Design & Development, User Testing

Part of Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business, the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship (CCIE) is an interdisciplinary home and academic hub that works to ignite, nurture and demonstrate the entrepreneurial mindset.  

We worked collaboratively with the CCIE team to design and build a refreshed website that welcomes collaboration amongst creators, thinkers and doers. Our team was excited to be a part of bringing their vision to life!

Approach

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Although this project was primarily focused on enhancing the CCIE's online presence, we wanted to clarify some core elements of the brand strategy to better understand the brand’s DNA.

When the CCIE team came to us, they were wary that their current messaging gave the impression that their programs were primarily for business students or people who wanted to start their own business. They wanted a strategy that more accurately conveyed their vision of interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Part of this was shifting the strategic focus to highlight the importance of the ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’ We used inclusive language and storytelling to emphasize the benefits of the ‘entrepreneurial mindset,’ and its applicability to students from all faculties. This has allowed the CCIE to attract a more diverse set of creators, thinkers and doers with more open-arms and clarity.

Part of the Family

Visual Design

Our task for developing the visual language was to create a unique identity for the CCIE while retaining its visual association with SFU. Keeping the SFU red as the anchor, we added purple and blue to create a multi-coloured palette that reflects the brand’s daring, yet approachable personality. We used geometric shapes and lines to evoke a sense of play and adaptability and group-focused imagery to convey the CCIE’s commitment to collaboration and connection. The three leading colors were used to guide the distinct primary audiences through the website. For each pattern we included 8 "paths" to represent the 8 faculities of SFU.

Designing for a Variety of Audiences

UX Strategy & User Testing

The Chang Institute serves multiple audiences - pre-university and undergraduate students, faculty champions, funders and partners. Through extensive user testing, we realized that the content structure needed to be simplified to promote self-identification. Building on the brand strategy and in-depth user-testing, we restructured the websites information architecture to allow each audience to find the right programs for them based on their motivations and needs. We made sure to use inclusive language and qualitative information to appeal to the CCIE’s variety of audiences.

A Mindset for All

Website Design Highlight

The Chang Institute engages with talented students from a variety of academic backgrounds. We wanted to bring their stories to the forefront by creating customized ‘story sliders’ to highlight each student's unique journey with the CCIE. The stories showcase how the ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ can not only benefit students’ academic pursuits, but also their careers and personal lives.

Building for Evolution

Website Design & Development

From the get-go, we knew we would need to design a website that was flexible and, most importantly, adaptive. To do so, we provided template pages for the programs and news & events posts to help standardize the content and support the introduction of new services and programs. With these assets, the Charles Chang Institute has a website that will grow with them.

Impact

Working in close collaboration, we provided the Chang Institute with a new website that was informed by the brand strategy, visual direction and UX strategy. The new website clearly communicates their value proposition and offers a personalized experience for their primary audiences. We’re so grateful to have been a part of their journey!

Shoutout To:

The CCIE working team: Sarah, Lynn, Jesika, Ben 
Our Advisor: Josh Chishom & Sean Brouwer