The College’s new website went live last week. In addition to a fresh look, you may notice these changes:

 

• an easier and more modern functionality on mobile devices
• more focus on people - you’ll see students and alumni highlighted in profiles around the site, and we’re integrating faculty and staff profiles later in the year
• larger areas for videos and photos
• An updated career section where news and events used to be
• Ability to have multiple stories on each page - so many stories!

 

As you visit the new website, contact Liz Libby, AVP of Communications and Marketing, if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement. In times ahead, her office will continue to work with individual faculty and administrative staff to make changes and additions to their portion of the site. A big thank you to the members of the Web Advisory Group for their help in planning the direction and design of the new website. 

 

In addition, thanks to a generous donation from a trustee and College friend, you will begin to see evidence of a new branding campaign on campus. Last year, we undertook a new branding exercise in support of the five-year planning effort. To guide the process, the College hired White Whale, a higher-education marketing firm that redesigned our website in 2011, to survey faculty, students, alumni, and staff about what sets us apart. 

 

A number of them participated in either focus groups or a survey that tested different terms that describe the value of a Lake Forest College education. Nearly 1,200 people responded to an online survey, and significant majorities chose the concepts “access” and “edge” as important, authentic, believable, and differentiating descriptions of what the College provides and produces.

 

Out of that came a new brand statement (below) that emphasizes what makes Lake Forest different, as well as a modern take on the traditional Lake Forest logo for the website and marketing materials that uses the book as a repeating visual, such as you will see on the banners and homepage of the website.

 

 

Lake Forest College gives every student direct access to great faculty and advisors, impressive internships, and a powerful network of alumni and friends who hire or help our graduates begin their careers. A Lake Forest education gives students a strong, competitive edge on post-graduate opportunities.