Case Study

Website Contract: University Athletic Club

Client: UMD Women’s Club Crew

A university club sports team looking to build an official website on a small budget.

My Role:

UX designer, front-end developer

Goals

  • Clearly communicate information about the sport team for interested students and parents.
  • Work in existing university design themes to imply the connection between this site and the larger university.
  • Encourage students to join the club team and engage in social media.
  • Note from client: “I want it to look cool but official!”

Challenges

  • Mindfulness of search engine visibility as older club crew websites still rank in search results.
  • A light/dark mode and lots of CSS styling to follow university design system.
  • Accessibility and responsive design.
  • Make it mobile first (this is a personal challenge for me as a coder and designer).

UX/UI Solutions

Video Demo

Here is a video walkthrough of umdcrew.com

Branding & Light/Dark Mode

The site follows the University of Maryland’s font guide and color palette. A light/dark mode toggle extends the site’s versatility while maintaining legibility and contrast standards.

lightning Impact: Creates a visual identity that aligns with university standards, and improves user recognition across digital platforms.

landing light

Responsive Design & Accessibility

Using flexible CSS layouts and media queries, the site adapts to various screen sizes. Components like the navigation, carousel, and accordion were optimized for mobile-first interaction, ensuring all content is readable and functional on any device. Accessibility features, such as high color contrast and semantic HTML, support inclusivity and ADA compliance.

lightning Impact: Enhances usability and ensures consistent experiences for all users, including those on mobile devices or with assistive technologies.

faq

SEO Optimization & Lazy Loading

The HTML structure employs descriptive metadata, semantic headings, and keyword-rich text to improve visibility on search engines.

lightning Impact: Increases site discoverability, boosts SEO rankings, engagement, and retention, especially on slower networks.

landing

Engagement & Conversion Design

Prominent “Instagram” and “Donate” call-to-action buttons, along with visually engaging image galleries, were strategically placed within high-traffic sections. The interface integrates subtle hover effects, gradient overlays, and icons that guide users toward action without overwhelming the design.

lightning Impact: Strengthens community engagement, drives social growth, and simplifies support opportunities for visitors motivated to contribute to the team’s success.

insta

Reflection

Project Reflection: University Athletic Club

Outcome:

  • Branding demonstrates a strong connection to larger university by adhering to font and color standards.
  • SEO optimization including strong metadata and keyword rich text greatly improves discoverability.
  • Mobile-first design and code make this a great website to view on a phone.
  • Strong sense of user engagement through recruiting, donate and social media links.

Next Steps:

Improve organization and efficiency of my code.

What I learned:

  • Coding for mobile-first while useful depends on the project. This was a great opportunity to practice as the website will get a lot of mobile use.
  • CSS can get very disorganized when implementing lots of responsive design and a light/dark color palette.
  • Designing with a pre-existing design system still requires a lot of attention to detail to make sure of consistency and flow.

Contact