As part of the rebranding process undertaken by Harvey Mudd College this school year, the redesign of the college’s website went live Jan. 21. The redesign, which was developed with the Atlanta-based firm Mindpower, is intended to emphasize the close-knit relationships within the HMC community while expanding HMC’s presence both domestically and
abroad.
The website features the college’s new logo, and has a more streamlined and modern look than its predecessor.
“The design allows us to feature several stories front and center—stories that reflect Harvey Mudd’s core values,” wrote Tim Hussey, HMC assistant vice president for communications and marketing, in an email to TSL.
He said that these values include academic excellence, a collaborative learning community, the importance of experiential learning and research, innovative and effective teaching, the college’s Honor Code, and “the centrality of our mission to educate students who impact society.”
Mitchell Horning HM ’14 said that changes in the website, and the rebranding efforts overall, could potentially
dilute the uniqueness of HMC.
“The rebranding seems to bring in
students that want a good education and a normal college life, but the thing
is, we don’t think you should come to Mudd for the normal college experience,” he said. “We think it’s somewhere you go if you’re looking for something specific.”
“They’re trying to actively change the
image of the school into something that a lot of current students do not
believe fits,” he added.
Mary Elise Elam HM ’14 discussed changes to the school’s logo in an email to TSL.
“The old logo was classic, but dated,” she wrote. This new logo adds more of an air of innovation and modernity that the
old style just didn’t have … but I think I like the old one
better for professional purposes.”
The first parts of the HMC website to go live were the admissions and financial aid sites, which were up on Sep. 12, 2013, a change that was primarily aimed at prospective students.
“We prioritized the Admission site because it had the highest number of external visitors (besides the homepage),” Director of Public Relations Judy Augsburger wrote in an email to TSL.
“We hope the new design expresses that Harvey Mudd is a unique learning community that values relationships,” Hussey wrote. “Through the website, we can better highlight the close relationships formed between students, professors and staff, as they work to create the collaborative, hands-on, interdisciplinary learning experience we value at Mudd.”
Hussey said that HMC’s rebranding is intended to promote the college and diversify the college community.
“We are constantly working to raise our national visibility, which helps attract and retain diverse students, faculty and staff,” Hussey wrote. “The branding exercise, including the new website, is certainly part of our overall effort to increase the College’s visibility and tell a clear story of why Harvey Mudd matters to the world.”
Some students are hesitant about the push to expand HMC’s reach, however.
“I feel nervous about Mudd trying to gain widespread attention,” Horning wrote in an email to TSL, noting that graduate schools and employers already know about the school. “It seems a little misguided to connect the worth of our school to its popularity or the recognition it gets from the public (or lack thereof).”