The Ethel Walker School Website Redesign
The Ethel Walker School, a prestigious all-girls boarding and day school in Connecticut, partnered with us to redesign their website. Our goal was to showcase the School’s strong academic reputation, unique programs and traditions, and state-of-the-art equestrian program. We also focused on capturing the warm and supportive community that empowers girls to lead their own stories. Key priorities included upgrading the user interface for a seamless user experience, addressing the needs of different audiences, giving prominence to the Middle School, and ensuring an excellent mobile experience. The result is a sophisticated and distinctive brand that resonates with parents, students, and educators.
Client
The Ethel Walker School
Scope
Sitemapping
Develop refreshed brand style
Custom website redesign
Mobile-first navigation
Distinct Middle School, Riding, and Athletics sections
Searchable curriculum guide
Sortable / filtering faculty directory
News and calendar overhaul
Athletics schedule
Categories
Education, branding
Credits
Designed with Steph Mullins
Development, Hannah Wool and Chris Yerkes
Art Direction, Taylor Design
Navigation
A top priority for the new Ethel Walker School website was a complete overhaul of the navigation system. We developed a unique, comprehensive, mobile-first design that effectively organizes the site’s extensive content, ensuring easy access and a user-friendly experience across all devices.
Desktop View
Mobile View
Design Extra
As part of a distinctive school tradition, each student and faculty member at The Ethel Walker School is assigned a unique sun or dial upon their arrival. We designed a custom sun/dial illustration that is integrated throughout the website and has become a key element of the school's brand identity.
Interior Page Designs
We prioritized making the interior pages of The Ethel Walker School’s website as engaging as the homepage. These pages are designed to be both informative and immersive, providing a glimpse into daily life at Walker’s and showcasing the vibrant community and unique experiences the school offers.
Key Features
Color-coded headers to let users know when they are in a different section.
Various sidebars highlight different voices in the community
News that is filtered to the page-specific categories
Show/hide functions for different process diagrams
Searchable curriculum guide
Robust faculty directory with sort/filtering functionality
Instagram integration
Athletics & Riding
The Athletics and Riding sections of The Ethel Walker School website are comprehensive and feature unique brand elements that align with the refreshed brand style. These sections are designed to provide detailed information and reflect the school's commitment to excellence in both athletics and equestrian programs.
The Athletics section of The Ethel Walker School website features the school's vibrant purple and yellow brand colors, along with a bold, varsity-inspired typeface. These design choices help differentiate it from other sections of the website and emphasize the dynamic spirit of the school's athletic programs.
To showcase The Ethel Walker School's renowned equestrian program, we used a rich dark purple color and an equestrian-inspired pattern. These design elements distinguish the Riding section from other areas of the website, emphasizing the prestige and unique aspects of the school's riding program.
Athletics Scores and Riding Results
We designed custom Athletics Scores and Riding Results sections for The Ethel Walker School website, incorporating color coding and icons to enhance user experience. In the Athletics section, each team features its own dedicated page with a key highlight being the Team Stats. Users can select the season to dynamically refresh the page, displaying updated records and schedules.
Middle School
A primary goal for the new website was to prominently feature The Ethel Walker School’s Middle School program. We developed a comprehensive Middle School section with a distinct header style to set it apart from the Upper School sections, ensuring it receives the attention it deserves and effectively showcases the unique aspects of the Middle School experience.
News & Events
The News & Events sections each feature a highlighted news item or event, with options to filter content by category below. This design allows users to easily navigate and access the most relevant updates and activities.
