The State Library of Ohio website features a responsive
design that scales to fit multiple devices.

IdeaBase, a Kent State University student-powered design firm based in downtown Kent, celebrates the launch of the new State Library of Ohio website. The website, which features a new interface, improved site navigation and enhanced search functionality, was designed and developed by IdeaBase and was launched recently by the State Library of Ohio.

“Working with IdeaBase was a wonderful experience,” says State Librarian Beverly Cain. “The team assigned to our project was responsive, creative and dedicated to providing a finished product that truly met our needs.”

The website offers Ohio residents, state government employees and libraries across Ohio improved access to library resources and services, and is the result of a yearlong collaboration between IdeaBase, Kent State’s School of Library and Information Science and the State Library of Ohio.

The project encompassed user research and usability testing, design, development and content strategy, and the website uses a responsive interface that scales to any device, allowing library patrons and employees to visit the website from their phone, tablet or computer. The IdeaBase team developed a custom-design template within the WordPress content management system to reinforce the library’s brand and allow for faster content editing.

The IdeaBase team members on the project included Kent State students from the College of Communication and Information, with specific focuses in advertising, user experience design and visual communication design, as well as the College of Business Administration’s computer information systems program.

“The school has a long history of collaboration with the State Library, with some of our offices and classrooms co-located there since 2008,”says Jeff Fruit, interim director for Kent State’s School of Library Information Sciences. “We worked with IdeaBase on our own website last year and we’re delighted to share their talents – and one of our user experience design students – to improve access to the State Library resources for all Ohioans.”

You can view the new State Library of Ohio website at http://library.ohio.gov. You can also read about the website’s design process and watch a video of the website in action by visiting www.ideabasekent.com/responsive-library-website.

Learn more about IdeaBase at www.ideabasekent.com.