UR Now

UR Now is a digital hub created to showcase the University of Richmond’s news, achievements, and stories to a global audience. As part of the platform's launch, I led the brand development and designed a versatile system for the editorial team to distribute visually engaging, weekly email updates. This UR Now brand leverages established university colors and typography, while introducing new graphic elements inspired by the university’s architecture.

My Roles
Branding
UI/UX
Visual Design

Artwork & visual identity

To streamline content creation for featured stories, I developed two distinct artwork styles for UR Now. For stories with photography, I implemented a photographic collage style to elevate existing images. For features without suitable photography, I created a deconstructed illustration style, adding flexibility and visual appeal that consistently aligns with the UR Now brand.

Adaptive email system

The weekly email system is designed for flexibility, enabling the editorial team to present varying types and quantities of content in a cohesive, visually compelling format. This adaptive layout allows for responsive, polished weekly updates that keep the university’s audience engaged with the latest stories.

Social media integration

To reach younger audiences less active on email, I designed Instagram Story templates to drive traffic to the UR Now site. With a streamlined, easily replicable design, these templates allow for quick, on-brand graphics that resonate with the university's 25.3k Instagram followers and complement other digital outreach methods.

Design process

To communicate the email’s modular layout possibilities, I created various wireframes demonstrating potential configurations and prepared a hands-on prototype with movable content blocks. This tangible approach helped stakeholders visualize the flexible system, empowering the editorial team to experiment with layouts that best suit each week’s content.

© 2024 Mike Domina. All rights reserved.