Built from the Inside Out: A School Website Design that Embodies Campus Life
The Overlake School Website Redesign & Development
Overview
The Overlake School is a living, breathing educational community for those in grades 5-12 where curiosity is encouraged, character is shaped, and students are known deeply as individuals. With a breathtakingly beautiful campus just outside Seattle, Overlake blends academic rigor with joy, purpose, and a genuine sense of belonging.
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Discovery
When we began this school website redesign, one thing was clear: the old website was misrepresenting Overlake.
It focused heavily on academics but undersold the warmth, balance, and student-centered culture that families feel the moment they step on campus.
Through a discovery questionnaire, key stakeholder interviews, a full website audit, and a competitive audit, we uncovered a gap between perception and reality. Prospective families weren’t fully seeing the “whole child” experience Overlake lives every day. To truly understand the school’s spirit, we visited their campus to observe assemblies, participate with learning inside of classrooms, run focus groups, and soak in the vibe that makes Overlake special.
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UX Strategy
Our UX strategy for this school website redesign centered on storytelling and clarity.
We developed a content strategy that put students at the heart of every page while clearly guiding parents, donors, and faculty to what mattered most to them.
An in-depth sitemap allowed us to map every page and section, shaping the information architecture for a clear and user-friendly structure. We reworked the navigation structure to be intuitive and welcoming, defined visitor flows for key journeys like admissions and giving, and mapped out conversion funnels that felt helpful, not pushy.
Build
With strategy locked, we moved into copywriting, design, and custom Drupal development.
The site features a refreshed color palette and a thoughtful typography pairing that feels both academic and warm—grounded, but never stiff. Visually, we explored imagery and video that feel real and human, supported by custom illustrations that reflect daily life on campus rather than staged perfection.
We led a comprehensive copywriting phase to define the school’s voice and positioning, shaping language that is clear, welcoming, and purpose-driven. Through multiple rounds of writing and review, we aligned messaging across the site with stakeholder expectations while staying true to the school’s values and student-centered philosophy.
Subtle animations add moments of delight as visitors scroll, helping the experience feel alive without distracting from the content. On the technical side, we built the site on Drupal with a modern development workflow using CircleCI and Docker to ensure consistency and scalability. Every component was designed to be flexible, empowering the team to evolve content as the school continues to grow.
Test & Launch
Before launch, we tested everything across browsers, devices, and screen sizes to ensure a seamless experience for every visitor.
From navigation to forms to performance, nothing was left unchecked. Hosting on Pantheon gave the school’s website a secure, reliable foundation with room to grow. Once everything was approved, we launched with confidence, knowing the site was ready for real families, real questions, and real moments.
Closing Thoughts
This redesign wasn’t about changing who Overlake is. It was about creating a school website that reflects how the school actually feels: thoughtful, engaged, and focused on students. The result is a site that’s easy to use, easy to grow, and true to the real Overlake experience.
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