I was perusing the recently added sites on eduStyle when I came upon the submission for Hartnell College!!*. As the self-appointed keeper of all things that have to do with Brown University’s homepage design, I couldn’t help but think that the folks at Hartnell actually did Brown a favor by not copying Brown’s “accordion” drop-down navigation verbatim. Instead, Hartnell College opted for a 100 percent width accordion drop down that induces dizziness, nausea and Dramamine purchases.
I’ve decided that Hartnell College’s homepage design is useful for two reasons:
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One, it’s a case study in what not to do…ever.
Two, it’s extremely useful for a higher ed web design rickroll.
*Hartnell College’s homepage title is “Hartnell College!!” – unfortunately, the edition of the double exclamation point does little to enhance the value of the site…
As a Brown University alumnus and higher ed professional, I find other schools’ theft of Brown’s code less appalling than their interest in copying such an unfriendly design and navigation scheme. I avoid the Brown homepage whenever I cruise to a brown.edu site (3 to 6 times/month), because I find it counterintuitive, and it slows my ability to find what I am looking for.
Also, the Brown web admin’s statement that it’s not their concern whether others have stolen the CSS code is interesting. If they’re not concerned about that, why have a copyright statement at all? Also, do we know whether it was original to Brown, or did they get the idea/inspiration somewhere else.
I do give Brown credit for doing something new that others (as far as I know) have not done before. Too many of the sites on EduStyle look like each other.