Agustin Torres | Dept. Web sites are behind the times

I've always wondered why so many academic Web sites are so ugly.

For instance, go to just about any department Web site of any university, and then go to the "faculty" section. If you were to then travel to any faculty member's individual site, chances are you would see an consistent use of plain ugly backgrounds, fonts that give you headaches, disorganized topics that are all over the place and many pictures of "Fluffy," the professor's pet of choice.

Luckily, these are just personal Web sites. Most of the time, they include the basic information relevant to the academic community, such as research interests, a list of articles they've authored and subjects currently being taught. The Web sites are small and simple, and so poor design is not that big of a deal.

However, when these characteristics also apply to the Web sites of a university's academic department, then the issue becomes more important.

If you've ever tried to choose a major by browsing through the College's Web site, you probably arrived at a page that lists all the major departments and programs with links to their own Web sites. Thankfully, I already have a major, and so I decided to look at the Web sites just for the hell of it.

Some Web sites have remarkable designs, so nice that I seriously considered majoring in Music, Hispanic Studies or Comparative Literature. Some others, however, leave a little to be desired, at least design-wise.

The Economics Department Web site titles its principal page "UPenn - Economics Department."

That'd be great, if our school was actually called UPenn. In reality, the University has been pushing for at least a decade to refer to our school as "Penn," not "UPenn." Web sites like this don't help to promote proper use.

The University can't expect its branding campaign to achieve much success if its own departments are still screwing the names up. Don't be surprised if a future econ major annoyingly refers to our University as "UPenn" in his application essay.

Other Web sites use aesthetically unpleasant capital letters, showing "PENN" instead. The logo on the Math Department's Web site, a pixelated image that barely resembles Penn's actual logo, looks like it was made by someone who failed out of Drawing I.

"The content is primary, but we certainly know that an ugly or awkward Web site is less useful," Mathematics professor Jerry Kazdan wrote in an e-mail.

Can't argue with that. But, hey, at least they have a logo!

The Philosophy Department's Web site, on the other hand, looks like it was made by a 12-year-old geek in 1997. A pattern background? That's so '90s. Though it's not much of a surprise when the page ends with "Last Modified: 2002.10.26."

A pleasant and user-friendly design is important not only to please our eyes but because Web sites are often the first impression a department makes to prospective students, faculty and the world in general.

In fact, the "Penn Web Style Guide," available online, contains detailed recommendations on proper use of the University's name and logo. It highlights that the logo should not be manipulated in any way, and it even shows an incorrect use of the logo, which includes "PENN" in white letters over an awkward red-and-blue background, similar to the aforementioned Web site.

Not all departments, however, are so behind the times. The Chemistry Department uses a simple, mostly clean design, plastering a cool-looking molecule as the site's centerpiece and correctly using the word "Penn." More encouraging, an update is already being planned.

"The current version of the Web site is more information-oriented, but we are moving toward a newer design that combines the information with new design concepts," Chemistry Computer Facilities Director Clarence Din wrote in an e-mail.

A positive online presence of our academic departments is crucial, and we need to strive for a consistent use of the University's name and logo. Spending enough resources in the Web-site design of our academic departments would go a long way in maintaining a healthy online image.

At least, departments shouldn't be waiting until 2016 for their next updates.

Agustin Torres is an Engineering sophomore from Monterrey, Mexico. His e-mail address is torres@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Monday Burrito appears on Mondays.

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