ArtEZ University of the Arts

The Challenge

A Future-Oriented Website for ArtEZ

In the past ten years, ArtEZ has changed significantly. The range of educational offerings has broadened, and the amount and diversity of content has increased, from student stories and videos to research results.

To support this well, a revision of the website was necessary. ArtEZ and Digital Natives worked together on the renewal of artez.nl, so that the website aligns with who ArtEZ is now and serves its various target groups well.

During this renewal, we faced several complex challenges:

• Search: how does someone exploring study options find their way in a broad and diverse range of programs?
• Education Flexibility: how do you help prospective students choose from offerings with different entry points, study paces, and learning forms?
• Making an Impact in a Short Moment: the student journey is central, with a focus on Generation Z. How do you guide a target group that reads little and decides quickly?

It starts with discovery

We began with an extensive discovery process and gathered input from over 300 respondents. We spoke with students, teachers, staff, and prospective students to map out opportunities, possibilities, and needs for the future artez.nl. Based on the belief that the best products always start with the people who use them, we conducted the research based on three key pillars:

• What is desirable for the target groups using the website?
• What is valuable for ArtEZ and its internal stakeholders?
• What is possible in terms of product creation?

We used questionnaires, interviews, workshops, blueprints, story maps & customer journeys for this.

We translated the outcomes into a number of clear product directions:

The right student in the right place 🧩
Inspiring, informing, and guiding prospective students to a program that truly suits them.

Sharing authority ⭐️
The website provides a platform for (upcoming) artists to showcase their work. By sharing work from (graduating) students, alumni, teachers, and researchers, the authority and impact of ArtEZ become visible.

The impact of practice-oriented research 🔬
Research plays a central role within ArtEZ. Researchers, students, and teachers collaborate on socially engaged and critical art research. The website makes the impact of this research visible and shows the close connection between research and education.

Authentic, visual, and tailored to a young generation

The design of the new ArtEZ website is based on the power of student work. The creations of students give the site color and make the impact of ArtEZ visible. By prioritizing the work, a vibrant image of the versatility and creativity within the academies and programs is created. The website exudes authenticity: real stories, real people, real work.

Visitors are taken on a journey of discovery through image and movement, where the atmosphere of the academies is palpable. The site invites you to imagine yourself walking through the corridors of ArtEZ and helps future students envision what it's like to study here.

The design is not only inspiring but also functional. The interface translates the media behavior of Generation Z into a clear, fast, and visual experience. This creates a balance between inspiring and informing: stimulating enough to keep discovering, clear enough to understand immediately.

Our Vision

Guide, Inspire, and Convince

The new artez.nl guides, inspires, and convinces visitors, seamlessly leading them to the right information. The website demonstrates how art education and artistic research strengthen each other and together make an impact within the arts and society.

The website:

• supports flexible forms of education, now and in the future

• focuses on student work, impact, development, and research

• offers a cohesive overall experience with a clear visual strength

• gives students, teachers, and alumni a platform, with space for their own initiative and direction

• communicates unity within the diversity of people, locations, and programs

• transcends individual programs and places art in a broader societal context

Our solutions

Smart design, smart technology

• A very user-friendly Craft CMS with multiple roles and permissions for the ArtEZ team, allowing information to be centrally and easily managed
• Integrations with, among others, the Bynder image bank, Course Catalogue, and the student learning platform
• A search function based on Elastic Search that not only smartly indexes artez.nl down to the last letter but also external platforms of ArtEZ staff and students. This makes the entire ArtEZ ecosystem centrally searchable.
• With the intuitive Programme Finder, study seekers find their way through the extensive educational offerings

With these smart solutions, ArtEZ is ready for the future.