From the Nominator

The Society of Alumni of Williams College (SoA)—the Williams beyond Williams—is a diverse, vibrant, dynamic collection of people united by formative experiences at Williams that shaped who they are, how they think, and how they engage with Williams and with the communities around them.

 

The bicentennial of the society seeks to celebrate this energy and stoke this flame for generations to come—in part by reminding all alumni that they belong to something comprised of—and yet much bigger than—individual experiences and connections. The SoA—in all its glory and flaws and brilliance and quirkiness—belongs to all alums. 

The theme for the SoA Bicentennial celebration overall, and the mini-site in particular, is "there's a place for you." This simple sentiment and the site encapsulate the importance of this opportunity to stand at a crossroads, and to tell the story as a community: to celebrate, to grapple, to give thanks, to reflect, and to create.

The site needed to convey a sense of pride and whimsy without being boastful or comical. The identity had to have extremely broad appeal, since members of the Society of Alumni range in age from 20 to over 100. They are scattered across the country and the world. Identifying themes and language to speak to them all, and creating a site that was simple to navigate and intuitive to interact with, were our primary goals.

From the Judges

Two-hundred years is a lot of ground to cover, and the temptation is to pack the kitchen sink into these anniversary sites. Williams presented a very well-curated experience, with strong opening video, interesting and poignant testimonials, and a dynamic timeline. The site is a beautiful expression of the bicentennial identity—bright, bold, easy to read—and a wonderful elevation of the institutional website design. Their efforts paid off with impressive metrics: Less than two months since launch, it logged more than 27,000 unique page views and very strong time-on-page stats.