City Tech OpenLab Internship

I interned this semester at City Tech Openlab. City Tech OpenLab is an open-source communications platform that is built on WordPress. It serves as a place for students, faculty, and staff at City Tech to collaborate.

This was a fully remote internship where we met weekly on Zoom to work on backend projects to improve the functionality of OpenLab. Since we’re students ourselves, we had a unique perspective: we could think about what students actually need from the platform. 

For our first project, we worked on improving and updating our own OpenLab ePortfolios. The goal here was to set an example for both COMD students and non-COMD students to show what’s possible when you fully utilize OpenLab’s tools and themes.

For our second project, we conducted a full evaluation of the OpenLab website. The goal was to analyze it —what works well and what doesn’t—and propose improvements to enhance its functionality for its users. 

Based on my evaluation, I created this wireframe as a starting point for a potential redesign of the OpenLab homepage. My goal was to simplify the layout, prioritize important sections like Announcements, and create a clearer visual hierarchy. 

To create this wire frame I researched other websites that I felt demonstrated good web design principles:

• Alex Trochut’s Portfolio, a typographic designer. 

• Slantis, an architectural project company and

• Measured, a guide to popular alcoholic drinks.

For our third project, we were tasked with creating a single-page, beginner-friendly template for research centers. The focus was on simplicity and usability, ensuring that even users with no experience could create a functional website. 

We began by creating a wireframe that prioritized clear hierarchy, optional visuals for flexibility, and a static sidebar for easy navigation. 

We then explored different WordPress themes, like Blogger, Flawless Blog, and JinJang, to test their compatibility with our wireframe.