Garrett: Clarifying Mission Through Experience Strategy
Designing a content and experience system to support clearer decisions for prospective students
Client: Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Industry: Higher Education, Religion, Non Profit
Role: Creative Director, Experience Strategy Lead
Team: Cross-functional agency team and client stakeholders
Agency: Glantz
Overview
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is a mission-driven educational institution seeking to better connect with prospective students and clearly communicate its purpose in a crowded digital landscape.
Role
I led experience strategy, UX design, and creative direction. partnering with stakeholders to clarify audience needs, restructure content, and design a digital system that supported clearer decisions about messaging, navigation, and engagement.
The Challenge
Garrett struggled to make clear decisions about how to communicate its mission and programs to prospective students across a complex, content-heavy site.
Key challenges included:
Difficulty prioritizing content for distinct audience needs
Inconsistent navigation and messaging across programs
Limited clarity around how the digital experience supported enrollment goals
The Approach
The work focused on designing a clear experience framework that helped stakeholders make better decisions about content, navigation, and audience engagement.
Key elements of the approach included:
Using audience research to clarify primary user needs and decision priorities
Designing a content and navigation system that prioritized clarity, accessibility, and ease of use for diverse audiences
Building a flexible system that supported ongoing updates without fragmentation
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Prospective Student Persona
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Alumnus / Donor Persona
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Admissions Persona
Information Architecture
Stakeholder Collaborative Moodboards
Design Concepts Driven by Moodboards
Intuitive Navigation
Mobile Navigation
Internal Page Navigation
Before and After Homepage Design
Before: Garrett Homepage
After: Garrett Homepage
Before and After Academics UX to Design
Academics Wireframe
Academics Landing Page Design
Outcomes
Improved clarity around Garrett’s mission and programs
Enabled stakeholders to make more confident content decisions
Created a scalable digital system that supported ongoing updates
Strengthened engagement with prospective students
Improved accessibility and clarity across a complex content ecosystem, supporting a wider range of users