• April 3, 2009

American University has launched a new site designed and developed by Brooklyn-based interactive agency Huge. The new site features interactive multimedia capabilities that provide user-generated content with Web 2.0 communication.

Huge began by reorienting the site's architecture, linking content, unifying visual design, and establishing relationships so that user movement is flexible and cross-navigational.

The traditional academic marketing model consists of guided visits, alumni magazines, and glossy brochures. That doesn't translate so well online, where people want authentic input from a variety of sources. The new American.edu puts people at the center of the experience, as opposed to individual schools or institutions. The site showcases user-generated content through a wiki system called AUpedia -- three parts blog, social application and discussion forum.--Tanya Irwin