UTEST Website Redesign
Updating the website for one of the best accelerator programs at University of Toronto.
The Accelerator
The University of Toronto Early Stage Technology (UTEST) program supports entrepreneurs at U of T in building and funding research-based companies. They asked us to help with a website refresh, so they could showcase all the businessess they've helped build over the years and share all the information students would need when applying to the program. We also had to integrate some new branding done for U of T and give UTEST it's own look while clearly remaining part of the U of T universe.
I completed this project while working as a Senior Designer at Office/Bureau.
A New Look & Feel
We wanted to give UTEST a unique visual look that made it stand out from other accelerator programs, while still tying it into the U of T brand. That meant a lot of the brand dark blue, and using similar layouts and grids, but the references didn't have to be too heavy handed.
I developed a series of shapes using 3D tools in Illustrator. All the shapes are wireframes: lines indicating structure but not filled in. Conceptually, these shapes represented the building blocks that UTEST helped students put in place as they built their companies. On a practical level these served as great visual flourishes behind and throughout content and images. We also wrote a small design guide with rules for how colour and shape were to be used going forward.
Select pages from the mini design guide
All the shapes created for UTEST, ranging from large, to small, to tiny.
Select Pages
We redesigned every page on the UTEST site with the intention of guiding users to apply to the program, and taking every opportunity to showcase what working with UTEST is like through photos. There was a lot of information that had to be included, so designing layouts to contain it all and make it accessible was paramount, and we had to keep in mind ongoing additions from the team once we stepped away and wrapped up the project.
Below are select pages from the website, click on any thumbnail to enlarge.
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Branding & Identity
Art Direction
Web Design
Editorial Design
Illustration
Infographics
On-set direction
HTML & CSS
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Winner of Silver Davey Award (website: sustainability) for Ecology & Society, 2023
Winner of Silver Davey Award (website: science) for Ecology & Society, 2023
Familiar with Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Wordpress, Webflow, and AODA (accessibility) requirements for print and web.
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Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design
OCAD University, 2011.
Margot holds dual citizenship in both Canada and the United Kingdom and is legally eligible for work in both countries. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.
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2011 - Present:
Senior Designer, Square
Senior Designer, Office/Bureau
Senior Art Director, H+K Strategies
Instructor, Toronto Film School
Art Director, Publicis
Art Director, Juniper Park\TBWA
Designer, Critical Mass
Designer, Indigo Books & Music
Lead Designer, Blue Ant Media
Designer, WIND Mobile