Strategies for Chinese design schools to develop more effective websites

Abstract Websites are increasingly becoming a major source of information. Nowadays, many international design schools utilize their websites to help promote their programs and attract prospective students. However, design schools in China are lagging behind in using websites effectively. Five typical websites of Chinese design schools were analyzed to identify existing problems, and a study was carried out on 10 top design schools located in the USA, Europe, and Asia, to synthesize best practices in website design. End-users ’ information requirements were captured by a questionnaire distributed to 112 design students in China. It was found that Chinese students were most interested in project details and portfolios (of both graduates and teachers) when browsing design schools ’ websites. An open-ended card-sorting test with 22 navigation tags was conducted among seven testers. The studies resulted in a set of cards that provided a common information category structure, which was then evaluated by another card-sorting test. Strategies are proposed to help Chinese design schools develop more effective websites