Ok, so my first post ever is a review of PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN web page.

Ever since I first saw the Parsons School of Design back in 2004 when I first applied to their program, I was impressed by it. It looks like no other site I saw at the time.

First of all, it is clean and clear. It only has 4 rectangles in the middle, and a column rectangle on the left. At the bottom is the New School brand strip, with the names of the other New School colleges. This strip appears throughout all the New School websites as a link to jump to the other sites belonging to the school. This keeps the consistency of The New School websites throughout. The colors on the strip belong to the colors for each college and are also consistent throughout all sites.

Each site, however, is unique beyond the New School branding. The Parsons site immediately gives a sense that you have arrived at a great design center. The rectangles are the shape throughout. Even the page itself is a rectangle. One of my pet peeves have always been why if a monitor is in landscape, do website design are always read up/down, with much of the information not fitting into 1 page. If all the info doesn’t fit, why not move it to a link on another page? The Parsons site is designed in landscape form also. One doesn’t have to scroll up/down. The info goes from left to right. The fonts are reduced to fit into 1 page. I think the fonts are a bit too small, and that’s the only drawback. But otherwise, it’s fine.

The 4 rectangles in the middle are there for each of the 4 different ways you can get info on the School:

PORTFOLIO: refers to design works done by the School
EVENTS- NEWS is just what it says
APPLY: Likewise
REQUEST INFORMATION: same

The gray rectangle column on the left shows the different degrees and majors the School offers. The programs are titled in text, and the rectangle is vertical and on the left. This indicates to the viewer the most important part of the page, which are the School programs.


There is also a SEARCH option box below the Programs column.

By clicking on each rectangle, you are taken to another page with the relevant info. The important thing is that the column on the left almost always stays on the page, and the New School strip also. On top of each page, a PARSONS strip with the other rectangle options appears, wit the same colors as on the first page. The Parsons School of Design logo also shows on each page, and it’s the link to go back to the School’s home page.

Throughout each page, the rectangle frame is mostly kept. There are some pages where you have to scroll up/down. Otherwise, most info. Fits on the page without scrolling.

The fonts are simple: Titles are larger, in bold, underlined, and are a link as well.

Throughout the minimalist, rectangle-driven design is kept. Simple, elegant, modern and minimalist. A great site driven by visuals not text,