Some details
This project was a fun challenge: we were asked to take two successful print brochures and devise a unique way to present them on the web. The site gives prospective students and faculty a taste of New York City from the vantage point of the campus and surrounding area.
We started with writing and sketches, working closely with the Technology Director at NYU-Poly, Ardis Kadiu. We created a slick concept for how the site
should work and what should appear on it.The primary visual element is a full-screen Google map that animates in the background, so we made sure to stay as minimal as possible with the rest of the design. Since the visual design was very intricate, we spent a lot of time in Photoshop to make sure we got everything right and considered all cases.
The site is built on Expression Engine, but in a non-traditional way. The frontend is almost entirely controlled by a Javascript layer which communicates with EE to gather markup snippets or data in JSON format and assemble it for the user. Navigation is handled by a Javascript router which uses HTML5 history states for a seamless experience. So instead of having ExpressionEngine build pages, we converted it into a pseudo-API.
As a result, the client is able to use the ExpressionEngine backend as they would a traditional website, but we were still able to create an advanced frontend. We saw using the latest web technology available as a branding technique: NYU-Poly’s core value is innovation, and so we wanted to innovate.