Department Web Designs

The UW Brand

All University of Washington websites should follow the guidelines available at uw.edu/brand. The brand website has specific instructions regarding colors, fonts, and logos, and links to many resources, including a photo database and web page components.

The Departmental Implementation

Following the recommendations below will stay within brand guidelines and create a look and feel similar to sites in the College’s Department Web Framework.  This will strengthen your department's brand and create a better experience for students, faculty, and other web visitors.

(See more info about the Theme Designs and Color Schemes used on Department Web Framework sites.)

Arts & Sciences Header

  • Include a purple band across the top with W and university wordmark on the left, and links to College of Arts & Sciences, Log in, and Search on the right. Use icons for log in and search links if possible.
  • Include the department name (or site name) in the header, using Encode Sans Black in all caps.
  • Position primary navigation horizontally below the header area

Primary Navigation

Use the following categories as top-level terms in your navigation, and organize all content into these areas.  These categories have been tested in usability studies with many academic units:

  1. People (faculty, staff, grad students, alumni, advisory boards, leadership)
  2. Programs & Courses (program descriptions and degrees offered, requirements, course info, admissions)
  3. Study Abroad or Labs or Facilities (may substitute a major strength of your department here, if it does not easily fall under another nav item)
  4. Research (publications, projects, dissertations, student work, key fields of study)
  5. News & Events (present/upcoming, archive, newsletter, calendar)
  6. Resources (advising, scholarships, internships, career advice, organizations, facilities, intranet links)
  7. About (mission, history, stay connected, support us, contact us, other background)

Stay Connected and Support Us Links

  • Include icons/links that invite visitors to connect with your department (mailing lists, social media, etc.) and donate to your department in the footer on every page
  • Follow guidelines for departmental giving pages

Footer

  • Include full address, phone, and email of department; copyright statement; links to Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Site Map, Contact Us