In relaunching the online Carnegie Mellon responsive university magazine, we have created a technologically sophisticated online university magazine which is commensurate with the Carnegie Mellon brand.

Some of you might recall that the magazine was relaunched just two years ago. So, why relaunch it again so soon? Two simple reasons – big data and branding.

Let me begin with two high-level views:

Let me now illustrate the smarts behind this:

1. Data powers the entire user experience: The online magazine sections (aka departments in print parlance) are based on a combination of popular SEO keywords and CMU strategic priorities and. The story tags too are intentionally hand-picked by use of popular SEO keywords. Instead of displaying popular tags alphabetically, they are prioritized in descending popularity order, with ability for site administrators to designate a couple of tags as sticky tags based on university’s strategic priorities.

2. New interactive design deepens the brand: CMU has always innovated at the intersection of two or more disciplines. Elliance applied cutting-edge interface design techniques to tangibly visualize this Carnegie Mellon brand distinction. As an example, in the screen shot below, note how we textually (with dual color-pixels) and visually (with color gradient) illustrated the fusion of robotics and arts&culture.

3. Stories juiced by SEO Keywords: CMU is leveraging the power of fresh digital content infused with SEO/Social to reach strangers the university may never be able to reach with print alone. Each story will be hand-optimized weekly to maximize the chance of landing on page 1 of Google and increase social shares.

4. Optimal blend of digital and print: Instead of printing a quarterly long-form magazine, CMU has moved to focusing on publishing one in-depth story every week followed by an annual glossy print version which will largely be a collection of the best performing stories. Result: less cost, more engagement and big impact.

5. “Mobile First” simplicity is the new mantra: See the persistent header and navigation on smartphones.

If you want to experience the data-informed and brand inspired magazine – and affect the dynamics of what gets displayed and the SEO rankings during your website visit, click cmtoday.cmu.edu.