Overview
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is one of the world’s leading art and design schools, known for bold, boundary-pushing work. The school needed a digital platform that could match its creative ethos, communicate visually, and showcase the work of students, faculty, and alumni in a way that felt as dynamic as the institution itself.
Role
Front End Developer
Drupal, Twig, SCSS, JavaScript, GSAP
The Problem
SAIC’s previous website was text-heavy and visually uninspiring, failing to reflect the school’s cultural relevance or global standing in the arts. The challenge was to create a highly visual, modular system that would allow editors to showcase diverse creative work, while maintaining a bold and cohesive design across hundreds of pages.
My Contribution
As lead front end developer, I architected and implemented the site’s component system within Drupal using Twig templates. I applied an Atomic Design approach to create reusable components that powered everything from program pages to galleries and alumni stories.
I built a modular SCSS architecture to maintain consistency across the site while supporting flexibility for highly visual layouts. JavaScript was used for interactivity, while GSAP powered key animations, including transitions, content reveals, and dynamic effects that gave the site a sense of motion and rhythm aligned with SAIC’s creative identity.
I also ensured design fidelity throughout the build, translating the bold visual system into pixel-perfect, responsive templates that preserved the school’s expressive brand across devices.
Impact
The new site gave SAIC a digital presence worthy of its international reputation, highlighting student and faculty work in a visually compelling, interactive way. The combination of modular design, motion, and flexibility positioned SAIC as a leader not only in art and design education, but also in how academic institutions can present themselves online.
The project was recognized with multiple awards, including a Webby Award nomination for Best University Website and a W3 Gold Award, affirming both the creative direction and technical execution.