Case Study

Web Design UX / UI School Co-op PHP MVC

TIM 312

A showcase site and contact platform for the school co-op run by the Techniques d'intégration multimédia programme at Cégep de Sainte-Foy build to forge a direct link between students and genuine clients.

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My Role

Visual direction & integration

Timeline

8 wks. · 2024

Client

Cégep de Sainte-Foy

Status

Live since 2024

01 — Brief

A FRONT DOOR FOR REAL CLIENTS.

The TIM program had been operating its Jeune Coop for a few years, but without any digital storefront. As a result, potential clients had no clear place to understand what the program offered, how the process worked, or how to get in touch with the instructors.

The mandate was to design a site that clearly explains the service offering, walks clients through the project submission process, and includes a contact form wired directly to teachers, all while being built for annual reuse with minimal maintenance.

Design constraints

01

A contact form baked into the site, wired directly to the programme's teachers.

02

A clear 'Approach' page that details the entire process from start to finish and which is easy to understand.

03

An architecture reusable year to year no rebuilds, no heavy updates.

Visual direction
Design system
UI/UX & prototypes
Visual content & illustrations

PHP MVC integration
Teacher validation
Content strategy

with Christopher Byatt & the programme's teachers

Backend architecture
Server configuration
Post-launch content updates

Approach page

AN EASY TO UNDERSTAND PROCESS

Above all, we wanted to answer a central question: how does it work? Since there are very few student-run businesses in Quebec, partnering with an organization of this structure can seem intimidating. We want to reassure clients by explaining exactly how it functions. The Approach page does just that through a 5-step journey, from initial request analysis to the final presentation. Each step clarifies both client commitments and student responsibilities to eliminate any ambiguity right from the start.

Contact form

FOCUSED ON THE ESSENTIAL

The form collects essential project information (contact details, organization, project description) and routes it directly to the teachers. We want the client to be able to easily submit a project within minutes, without needing to find an email address or go through multiple people.

Rejected

WordPress / generic CMS

The fastest option to deploy. But in a school context, admin access changes every year and WordPress updates are a real breakage risk. Too much maintenance for teachers who shouldn't have to manage it.

Rejected

Bilingual from day one

We considered FR/EN from the start. Scope and timeline didn't allow it — and the programme's primary audience is francophone. We chose a solid French launch over a rushed bilingual one.

Shipped

Custom PHP MVC

A lightweight architecture with no heavy external dependencies. Réalisations and key content are managed through a database. Teachers can update the project list without touching code — and the structure reuses cleanly session to session.

05 — Reflection

A MOMENT OF REFLECTION

01

Past projects were sidelined during development, as priority was given to explaining our approach and creating a form for clients to contact teachers with project ideas. In hindsight, showcasing these projects should have been at the core of the development process. We would also have benefited from presenting a wider variety of work, allowing clients to better gauge what can be achieved with the students.

02

One of our best moves was testing the form with a potential client to get feedback. We also had the UX validated by peers and teachers.

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