A presentation of the five principles we use to inform how we approach designing the user experience of our website.

1. Design principles
For Digital Marketing & Communications
at the University of Bath
@liammcmurray

2. 1. Design for real people
”Remember who you are designing for”, is the most important thing we can do.
Every design decision we make should solve an actual problem that a site visitor has, or facilitate a real user need. Design
should serve the content it presents, design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration. We always keep in
mind that the end user of a page can be very different to us, with different needs, expectations, and abilities, and ensure
that our design does not exclude them from getting the answers they need.
Our best decision - what the Alumni team learned from user research by Rachel Skerry
How to share in the rewards of user research by Ross Ferguson

3. 2. Design with data
Successful design starts from a clear and informed position.
Our approach is inclusive: we're building a site that will provide the optimal experience for a visitor whoever they are and
whatever device they are using. To achieve this we conduct user research to better understand what people expect. We
test changes, features and assumptions with users to get insight and feedback that ensures we are delivering on that
expectation. It is as important to remove failing features as it is to add new features into our design, and the ability to
know what works and what doesn't only comes from data.
Is this thing working? by Liam McMurray
User testing with staff by Paul McGarvey

4. 3. Be simple, fast and effortless
Good design, when it’s done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done
poorly that we notice it.
We maintain a pattern library to ensure the design of elements is consistent, and this ensures that our interactions speak
to users with a single voice, building trust.
We strive to ensure that our design affords our visitor with an experience that feels fast – they should be able to find what
they need on the page without a delay. Images are optimised for the device they are viewed on, visual enhancements are
loaded progressively, and do not disturb the flow of content on the page.
We minimise pain-points as much as possible with an awareness of good practice, to provide an effortless experience.
Designing the alphas by Dan Dineen
Moving stylesheets forward dynamically by Liam McMurray

5. 4. Make bold choices
We measure ourselves against the very best, and we should not come up short.
The success of the University of Bath is based on calculated risk-taking, knowing when to break from convention, and
when to reprioritise your approach to better fulfil the requirements of the people who depend on you. Instead of simply
matching what other institutions offer, we challenge them with innovative approaches and ideas that better serve users’
needs.
Typesetting the alphas by Dan Dineen
A new home for Alumni by Liam McMurray

6. 5. Always evolving
We believe that things can always be made better, and we know that good design
is never finished.
It is pointless to sink 2 months into crafting the most beautiful interface if it does not allow the visitor to complete their
task, or does not work on a mobile device. We release a design feature as soon as possible, and then iterate on that
delivery to improve it.
Renewing the Library landing page by Chris Roberts
Improving the international country pages by Miao He