RUX - Education Redesign Responsive Web App Design Concepts Challenge

Welcome to the "RUX - Education Redesign Responsive Web App Design Concepts Challenge". The goal of this Challenge is to improve the overall quality of the design, navigation, interactivity, and presentation of the Department of Education website (ed.gov). ED is the agency of the U.S. federal government that establishes policy for, administers, and coordinates most federal assistance to education. ED assists the president in executing his education policies for the nation and in implementing laws enacted by Congress. Your design will need to work on both Web/Desktop and Mobile devices.

The redesign of ED.gov should engage the American public, amplify the Secretary’s message, and advance ED’s policy goals while maintaining high availability and high performance.
Make sure to dig into and review the details below and let us know if you have any questions!

What is RUX Challenge?
RUX (Rapid User Experience) challenge uses the same format as our famous LUX Challenge, except it is not "Live" at an event. The RUX Challenge Series provides you with an opportunity to show digital leaders from some of the largest companies in the world just how good your concept and user experience (UI/UX) design skills are.

RUX (Rapid User Experience) challenges are fast, fun, and have more chances for you to capture prize money!

Note: You do not need to have RUX challenge experience to join this challenge - Just jump in and give it a try! Make sure to follow the challenge details, and ask questions in the challenge forum.

CURRENT PROBLEM:
Nearly 40 percent of people will stop engaging with a website if the design is unattractive, and nearly half of users cite design as the number one factor in assessing credibility. Design plays a critical role in ensuring the public has access to, and engages with, the content on ED.gov.

Customers find it challenging to quickly locate information that meets their needs. The current site:

• It is difficult to navigate;
• Does not incorporate the latest functionality that enhances the user experience;
• Relies too heavily on text;
• Is antiquated; and
• Does not have a consistent brand, look, or feel.

DESIGN GOALS:
Below are some of the goals:

• New designs should conform with ED’s existing color scheme and use its current seal.
• Accessible content for desktop, mobile, and tablet users;
• Integrated social media, RSS feeds, and subscription services;
• Elegant, clean, simple, user-centered look and feel with a modern aesthetic;
• Strong ED branding on the homepage, and throughout the entire site with a consistent appearance;
• New and innovative tools that enhance user experience; and
• Engaging and easy-to-navigate pages.

RUX CHALLENGE AND TIMELINE

• Submission Start: Friday, 22nd May 2020 at 08:00 AM EDT
• Rolling Checkpoint Start: Sunday, 24th May 2020 at 8:00 AM EDT
• Submission End: Monday, 25th March 2020 at 08:00 AM EDT

PRIZE PLACEMENTS

• 1st Placement: $2000
• 2nd Placement: $1500
• 3rd Placement: $1000
• 4th Placement: $750
• 5th Placement: $500

Plus 8 placements for Rolling Checkpoint prizes @ $50 each!

NOTE: Important Rolling Checkpoint Details

• Issa John [Issa] will be available for early submissions and Rolling Feedback!
• We will answer questions and provide Rolling Feedback as fast as possible.
• You must watch the Forum for your feedback!
• All initial qualifying checkpoint submissions will win $50 (Only first 8 submissions will be awarded $50)

DESIGN CONSIDERATION
Innovators should ensure to the greatest extent practicable that any design supports the federally mandated 21st Century Idea Act for modernization, including complying with the following:

• Your designs should conform with ED’s existing color scheme and use its current seal.
• Be accessible to individuals with disabilities by applying section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
• Uses the US Web Design System maturity model to create and implement the site.
• Have a consistent appearance.
• Contain a search function intended for public use.
• Be provided through an industry-standard, secure connection.
• Be fully functional and usable on common mobile devices.

SCREEN REQUIREMENTS
For this challenge, we are looking for you to create an engaging user experience based on the details provided. Apply modern user interface design techniques and be bold in your decisions - this challenge is about pushing boundaries and trying new things!

NOTE: Below pages will be created as a template in either Wordpress and/or Drupal open-source CMS.  Choose whichever one you want to design for.  

00) Header & Footer:
Header:

• The header will have the logo (Seal of Education Department)

• Universal Search that allows any information to be searched

• Links 

Footer:

• Mission Statement

• Links (please see reference link for the list of links that is required)

• Social Network links
   

01) Homepage (Desktop, Phone)
Reference: https://www.ed.gov/
This is main landing page, below are some of the features that needs to be in this page

• Provide access to main information regarding “Student Loans, Grants, Laws, Data”

• Featured Information/news

• US Secretary of Education Name and Designation with links to bio, speeches and twitter handle

• Press Releases

• Quick links (How Do I Find..?, Information About.., etc)

• Go through the site and see what other information could be useful here..

02) Program Office Page (Desktop)
Reference: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/om/fs_po/ocr/home.html?src=oc
This is a sub-page, so this template will need to have the below:

• Include a title

• Breadcrumbs: Allow the user to go back to the parent page (in this case: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/om/fs_po/index.html)

• Have some links

• Quick links (How Do I Find..?, Information About.., etc)

• Related Links

• See what other information could be useful here..

03) Informational Page (Desktop)
Reference: https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grants-college.html?src=pn
In this template will need to have the below:

• Include a title

• Provide a way to highlight the information in the page

• Follow the remaining contents from the reference page

• Use the best practices and improve the user experience in the page

04) Grant Page (Desktop, Phone)
Reference: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/fws/index.html
This template will need to have the below:

• Include a title

• This page will have multiple links to various sections of the program (Purpose, Eligibility,  Applicant Info, Awards, Performance, Funding Status, Laws, Regs, & Guidance, Resources, FAQs and Contacts) - so come up with an idea on how to introduce these sub-links on the page, so it provides a great user experience in finding the required information about the program.

• There will be an article on the page, see reference for the content required.

05) Contact Page (Desktop)
Reference: https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/gen/index.html?src=ft
This template will need to have the below:

• Include a title

• The education department will have various contact information that will be helpful to the people

  • General Inquiry

  • Financial Aid Information

  • Fraud, Waste & Abuse Hotline

  • Publications

  • Research & Statistics

  • Civil Rights Hotline

  • Federal Relay Service

• There needs to be an easy to retrieve the contact information, looking forward to your ideas for the best layout.

06) News Page (Desktop)
Reference: http://www.ed.gov/news
This template will need to have the below:

• News title is pulled from other parts of the site as a feed

• What information can be shown on this page?

• Currently, news is pulled from blogs, press releases, speeches, media advisories

• Looking forward to the best layout possible for this page.

07) Presentation Screen - Important - 1920x1080 (16:9 Ratio)

• In a RUX challenge, this screen is the way to showcase your concept so keep it simple and make it look good!

• If you were walking into a meeting and needed to sell your idea - use this screen to showcase your concept.

• Check this Topcoder Blog post on how you can create a presentation screen for RUX challenge: https://www.topcoder.com/a-guide-for-creating-topcoder-lux-rux-presentations/

BRANDING GUIDELINES

• Your designs should conform with ED’s existing color scheme and use its current seal.

• Be accessible to individuals with disabilities by applying section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

• Uses the US Web Design System maturity model to create and implement the site.

TARGET DEVICES

• Web/Desktop: 1366px width with height adjusted accordingly

• Phone: 750px width x 1334px height 

TARGET AUDIENCES 
Education Department website is used by below users:

• Students and parents; 

• Press; 

• Educators and administrators; 

• State and local officials; 

• Non-profit stakeholders; 

• Representatives from community organizations; and 

• Advocates, among others.

MARVEL PROTOTYPE

• We need you to upload your screens to MarvelApp

• Please request for your MarvelApp prototype in the respective thread in the challenge forum

• Create HotSpot to navigate and simulating your proposed flow

• You MUST include your MarvelApp URL (in your marvel app prototype, click on share and then copy the link & share it with your notes/comment this link while you upload).

JUDGING CRITERIA
Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Innovation (50%). The submission should:

  • Offer a creative redesign using non-traditional improvements that maximize user experience in terms of form and function.

  • Propose new adaptations and innovations in layout, typography, animation, illustration, video, and photography.

  • Use new technologies and innovative tools, i.e., plug-ins.

• Quality of redesign (35%). The submission should:

  • Have a clean, simple, modern aesthetic

  • Have an easy-to-navigate interface with the quick response time.

  • Integrate social media, video, photography, and plug-ins.

• Compliance with federal standards and website requirements (15%). The submission should:

  • Meet accessibility, US Web Design Standards maturity model, and 21st Century IDEA Act, etc., standards.

SUBMISSION AND SOURCE FILES
Preview Image

• Please create your preview image as one (1) 1024x1024px JPG or PNG file in RGB color mode at 72dpi and place a screenshot of your submission within it. 

Submission File

• Submit JPG/PNG image files based on Challenge submission requirements stated above

• MarvelApp link for review and to provide feedback

Source Files

• All source files of all graphics created in either Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, or Sketch and saved as an editable layer

FINAL FIX

• As part of the final fixes phase, you may be asked to modify your graphics (sizes or colors) or modify overall colors