The homepage of the new calarts.edu, which launched on Oct. 16. | Image: Screenshot
How do you capture the sound of CalArts?
It’s a question that that the alumni team at Handbuilt Studio turned over as they embarked on creating the visual language for a new iteration of calarts.edu. Juliette Bellocq (Art MFA 00), Brooke Irish (Art MFA 14), and Makena Janssen (Art MFA 22) found a clue in a passage from Mahmoud’s Moon Mood, a track by Ted Taforo (Music MFA 14) featured on the CalArts Jazz 25th Annual CD. Pulsing and capricious, the audio would inspire the website’s design and architecture.
Through a process of digital sound modulation, the Handbuilt team seized its soundwaves to fashion a design language that spoke to their own times and experiences at CalArts. The song’s rhythm and contours were transformed into bold and exuberant patterns, reflecting how it feels to grow and learn as a student at the Institute. Simply creating a new look and feel for the website wasn’t enough: They resolved to mirror the in-person campus experience by creating opportunities to welcome and connect with visitors, regardless of where they first land on the site.
The results were unveiled in a burst of vivid colors and dynamic visuals when the newest version of the CalArts website went live on Oct. 16. More than a year in the making, the revamp was a collaborative affair, developed and conceived with input and insight from students, alumni, faculty, and staff to create a comprehensive digital space that is indubitably CalArts.
The project was led by the Institute divisions of Marketing and Communications, Enrollment Management, and Information Technology, alongside extensive research, analysis, and expertise from agency partner NewCity. The redesign marks the most significant update to the website since 2017, guided conceptually by CalArts’ raison d’être—a multidisciplinary community of artists under one roof.
Ann Wiens, vice president for Marketing and Communications at CalArts, articulated the vision and goals for the new website in an announcement to the community the day before launch:
Throughout this project, our goal has been to build a site that invites user engagement and exploration; that shares the experience of being at CalArts in a palpable way; that inspires as it informs; and that foregrounds the creative practices, voices, and spirit of our community of artists—all while ensuring that our new site embraces the best practices of website design and is fully compliant with international accessibility standards and guidelines.
Program list on the new calarts.educalarts.edu student experience page
Replete with fresh content and improved functionality, the redesign simplifies navigation and encourages greater digital engagement with prospective students, allowing them to immediately dial into the vibrant CalArts scene as they explore different academic programs and learn about the student experience. The site also serves as a source of news and information for the CalArts community as well as those who may not be familiar with the work of our alums, faculty, and students.
Learn more about the site and its contributors here, submit feedback via this form, and have fun clicking around!
As digital content and social media producer, Taya enjoys lifting up the stories and accomplishments of CalArts' students, alums, and faculty. She fancies herself a visual artist but is really more of an overzealous collector of art supplies.
