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student peace initiative
Create a website for the Student Peace Initiative (SPI), a student-run organization at Loyola University New Orleans
sections
Opportunity
Scope
Meeting Prep
Interview
Round 1
Round 2
Final
Reflection
Role
Research, Wireframing, Branding
tools used
Figma, Photoshop
team size
7 Designers, 1 Instructor
duration
12 Weeks
Client goals
Have an archive for photos and journals of past events
Get users to contribute to the Peace Journals
Recruit people nationwide into the initiative
Highlight their current theme
design goals
Figure out what content would make people want to engage with SPI
Decide how to brand the website
opportunity
The Student Peace Initiative publishes journals and hosts on-campus events promoting world peace. Each semester has a new theme, accompanied by a festival, conference and journal. The festivals are casual events that build interest in the more in-depth conferences, and visitors can submit abstracts to be featured in the journals. Seeking to expand nationally and increase journal submissions, SPI’s board asked our team to develop a website for them.
Various activities from the Student Peace Initiative’s 2025 festival
Scope and Constraints
While we had access to one of SPI’s journals and understood their campus projects, we were not sure if they had established branding or specific site features in mind. As it turned out, they had a logo and palette but were open to seeing other possibilities. Our plan was to design the main pages and leave complex features like journal integration to an intern next semester. Due to time constraints, we couldn’t build a functional website, but we delivered SPI several unique layouts and brand interpretations to continue with.
meeting preparation
We organized our individual questions for analysis
To understand SPI’s needs, our team came up with several questions for the board members. We drafted questions individually, then consolidated them by identifying common themes and merging or removing duplicates. Some of the questions that proved particularly useful were:
Who is your primary target audience, and what are their needs or motivations for visiting the site?
What content needs to be included?
What are the most fundamental aspects and particular efforts that a user should know when learning about SPI?
What existing visual assets (logos, images, icons) should be included, and where can we access them?
interview
When we met with the Student Peace Initiative a couple weeks later, we narrowed down their audience to participants, observers, and outside organizations. Their top priority was encouraging abstract submissions, so each semester’s theme had to be prominently featured. They also wanted to archive past events, highlight upcoming ones, share their history, include testimonies, and feature key members. While they left the style to us. they favored bold interfaces with dynamic elements like scrolling type. Because SPI planned to eventually separate from Loyola, the site also needed a distinct identity.
round 1
Wireframe sketches - Sitemap
Going into the design process, I focused on emphasizing SPI’s impact and credibility to drive engagement. That’s why the landing page features several statistics and testimonies. I chose a monochromatic blue palette to convey trust and create a welcoming feel. Because SPI told us users often confused SPI’s festivals and conferences, I included descriptions on the events page. Three qualities the board members wanted people to know about SPI were that anyone could join, they’re not always political, and they encourage open discussion. I wrote these facts beside their About Us description for emphasis.
Wireframes
During critique, I realized I could boost engagement by adding call-to-action sections linking to the Get Involved page. I could also improve readability by increasing the line spacing of my body type.
round 2
We met back with the SPI board to review our design directions. By then, I had added CTA sections and a prominent footer button linking to the Get Involved page, as well as adjusting the colors to appear more blue. I also leaned into an editorial look by using a serif typeface for body copy, reflecting SPI’s journal work.
The board liked the Instagram integration, journal layout, and event descriptions. My instructor approved the dedicated theme section and highlighted qualities beside the About Us description. However, he noted that the blue images were too dark, which also made the CTAs blend into the footer. In my final iteration, I addressed these issues and ensured sections like Journals and Staff fit fully on screen.
final
reflection
The main challenge of this project was understanding our client’s priorities and adapting our layout accordingly. By focusing all our initial efforts into the interview, we gained a clear understanding of the client’s needs and could create a layout that reflected them. This emphasizes the importance of strong communication when client requirements are unclear. Understanding the reasoning behind requested content, like SPI’s testimonies, can also inform future design decisions, such as using a monochromatic blue palette to convey trust.
try the prototype
Niche
Great Ideas