Background information
Organization name
Codesmith
Description of the organization and its target audience
Codesmith is a top rated coding bootcamp. Our main offering is our 12 week immersive software engineering full stack program that enables graduates to land mid to senior level software engineering jobs.
We also offer numerous free learning opportunities for folks looking to learn to code!
Our target audience is anyone looking to learn to code and transition their career into software engineering or upskill from an engineering/engineering adjacent role. Our average student is college-educated, around 28 years old, and lives in the USA.
Industry
Education
Existing website
Visual style
Style/theme ideas
We are looking to *improve* our current look and feel. Make it look more clean, polished, and professional. We are NOT looking for a radically different style / theme.
We want to keep our colors consistent with what they are currently, and we use real people’s photos throughout the site. We are open to animations and more interactivity, both in the above-the-fold section as well as to display information lower on the page.
The design changes for the homepage should not totally clash with the rest of the website.
Also, please be sure to address how links look and subtle typography changes as needed.
We take our brand as 'brilliant yet playful' and both 'approachable yet high achieving' seriously and want to give off this vibe, especially at first glance for new users.
Specific design notes:
1 - We are MOST interested in improving the area above the fold.
For example, adding a Headline and Sub Headline and simplifying the form.
2 - We are interested in seeing new ideas on how to display the content we currently have on the home page below the fold to highlight program information and give the user a better understanding of what our offerings are and why to choose us.
This information could be more streamlined, and we are trying to move away from our ‘text-heavy’ brand choice more officially later this year.
We will be judging the new design primarily based on how it looks on a desktop (not mobile).
Inspirational websites
https://github.com/
I love the balanced approach on the above-the-fold - draws your eyes to their style/photo choices on the right but also makes you want to give them your email. I think it draws your attention to both in a great way. Like the behavior of the element on the right
https://www.codecademy.com/
I like that it is simple yet fun seeming and really focused on the outcomes of the courses and getting people to sign up. They have a lot of offerings and it simplifies them well. It also makes learning to code look fun and modern.
http://userzoom.com
It’s simple and clean yet professional looking design.
http://lambdaschool.com
Easy to read - great information flow. Does not look like a cookie cutter design.
https://rightsideup.com/
Very clean and professional looking. Not too busy.
https://junocollege.com/
clean and good layout of info, impressive feel
https://www.lewagon.com/
Super clear and on point
Content details
Page descriptions
We are most interested in ideas for above-the-fold on our home page.
For example, adding a headline and subheadline, and moving some of the copy from the form itself. Changing the background images, etc.
For the rest of the page, try to keep the same content (more or less) but present it in a more attractive way and feel free to change the order of sections on the page.
Please note, currently some of the content is hidden you mouse-over a tile or click
Notes:
We want to draw users’ attention to the key takeaways and ideally flll out the form asking for a syllabus.
On the home page, we are trying to show our multiple program offerings, our free resources and community options for those not yet ready to apply, why trust us with your education, and that our programs are highly-selective but attainable. We also have the best graduate outcomes stats in the industry, and we want to highlight those very clearly.
What to avoid
As we are integrating this new homepage with the rest of the website, so we don’t want a design that will totally clash with the rest of the design/style guide.
We are open to new types of buttons, sections, etc. Do NOT use any stock photos.
Other
Other notes
We will be building this out in-house and will need to make sure we have mobile versions as well. We are aware that our website is not very mobile-friendly at this time.
Can use photos from here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/yqVQE8967EA2PNkDA
Stock images
Client requested you avoid using stock for this contest.
Stock images are licensed photos and vector files. Please tell the client before you submit designs using stock images
Attachments
Contest deliverables
1 x Web page design(s)
Final files
You will be required to provide either a PNG or a JPG file. Please check with the client to see if they have a preference.
If you use fonts that require a license, confirm with the client they're ok with it. For licensing reasons, it is better to provide your client with information on how to acquire the font rather than providing the actual files.