Pratt Institute

Students walking through the tree-lined campus of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn on a sunny day, with historic brick buildings in the background.

Challenge

The original site felt dated and cluttered. It lacked a clear hierarchy, struggled on mobile, and didn’t reflect the editorial depth or energy of the Pratt community.

Opportunity

This was a chance to rethink the platform from the ground up. We introduced a modern visual language, improved accessibility, and built flexible templates to support everything from student features to press releases.

User Research

We began by interviewing stakeholders from across Pratt—Communications, Editorial, Social Media, Development, and Press. These conversations helped us understand how each team used the site and where the current experience fell short.

We also studied five peer institutions to spot UX patterns, gaps, and opportunities. Our goal wasn’t just modernization—it was to make the platform feel more intentional, editorial, and easy to navigate.

View the detailed presentation.

63% cited poor search and filtering.

54% wanted better support for media formats.

45% requested cleaner layout and bolder visuals.

45% highlighted the need for more intuitive link behavior and content flow.

Approach

We took a mobile-first approach and restructured content around how users actually read stories—not just how departments were organized.

Seamlessly weave Pratt News content into a more intuitive architecture.

Ensure consistency across screen sizes.

Let the stories shine by keeping the interface understated.

Three individuals collaborating at desktop computers in a design studio setting, with one person presenting on a large screen displaying typography and layout examples.

Wireframes

The wireframes were designed to emphasize clarity, flexibility, and visual rhythm.

Low-fidelity wireframe of the Pratt Institute news webpage, showing a grid layout for recent articles with placeholder text and navigation links.

The homepage uses modular cards to surface new content and spotlight key stories.

Daily Hub featured a post-it-style layout for rapid scanning.

Wireframe section titled ‘Pratt Daily Hub’ showing a clean grid layout with article placeholders, minimal text blocks, and a ‘View More’ button for extended content.

Dark-themed wireframe of the Prattfolio homepage, featuring a centered play button for video content and a highlighted article preview with placeholder text.

Prattfolio, the institute’s flagship magazine, was treated as a full-screen experience that supported rich formats like video and galleries.

Final Designs

The final design brought together editorial depth and visual clarity. Every section was tailored to its content type—with a clear hierarchy, strong signifiers, and a layout system that felt cohesive across screens.

Full-page screenshot of the final Pratt News website design, featuring sections like top articles, Daily Hub, Prattfolio, and Press, styled with a clean layout and strong visual hierarchy.

Results

Bounce rate dropped by 70%.

49.7K new users in the first year.

Average time on page rose to 2 minutes 19 seconds.

What I Learned

Navigation shapes experience. When users know where to go, they explore more and stay longer.

Hierarchy helps clarity. When content is organized by action, it’s easier to find and more enjoyable to read.

Start broad, then refine. Wireframes provided room for early feedback and helped minimize rework during high-fidelity stages.

Next Project

In Search of Space – Interactive Data Story

Mapped 4,000+ space missions in a scrollable timeline. Designed for clarity, curiosity, and visual storytelling.