Project overview
Greene’s Tutorial College is Oxford’s oldest tutorial college, established in 1967, and has supported the education of around 15,000 students. Offering full-time sixth form courses, supplementary tuition, examinations and A Level retakes, Greene’s delivers fully tailored programmes through its distinctive Tutorial Method.
XIST2 was commissioned to redesign and rebuild the Greene’s website, with the aim of creating a contemporary digital presence that respected the college’s rich heritage. With ambitious growth plans and a strong reliance on digital channels to drive engagement, the new website needed to be mobile-first, elegant and easy to navigate, while clearly communicating Greene’s academic offering.
Design
When it came to the website, we knew we would need an eye-catching homepage to showcase the marriage of heritage and innovation that makes Greene’s so unique. As with any website, the devil is in the detail, and it is the small touches that matter. We created a sophisticated animation for the homepage hero banner, subtle hover states and stylistic touches within many sections to give the site a premium feel.
It was important to include lots of content, in a way that felt elegant and refined, without being overbearing. Therefore, the design team created a dynamic ‘highlights’ widget, where Greene’s could list all of their USPs so that users could click on a customised icon to learn more. This gives users the opportunity to seek out the content they are interested in and avoids having an overly long, dragging page that causes users to drop-off halfway down.
Often overlooked and underestimated, the font choice played a huge part in the overall feel and tone of the website. We used a combination of fonts to highlight the historical yet contemporary values of Greene’s. From modern, clean and readable fonts for the body content, to a traditional serif font for an academic feel throughout the website. We also adapted the colour palette to be more refined and contrasted, by including some extra neutral tones to help set apart sections and add depth.
During our audit of the old website, the analytical data made it clear that Greene’s had a high percentage of mobile users. Therefore, it was imperative that the website was developed with a mobile-first approach, meaning that each page was specifically optimised to render perfectly (and change slightly in some instances) for mobile users as well as desktop users.
Videography + photography
Videography
To top off the project we also created a range of videos to be featured on the website. The outputs from our 1-day video shoot included a 3-minute promotional video, a highlight reel for the homepage banner and several interviews with tutors and students for use on the website and social media.
After weeks of planning and storyboarding, we came to a shoot-list that showcased all of Greene’s best qualities in a way that would be highly engaging for their target audience. Using a combination of footage from the day, drone footage and music, the final product was an inspirational and motivational video which sells the Greene’s experience more than a paragraph of copy ever could.
Photography
Now that Greene’s were having a complete re-design, it became clear that their old image library would not complement the elegant, refined and consistent feel of the new website. We organised a 1-day photoshoot to capture a whole new set of imagery ready to use on the website. From students in action and staff headshots, to photos of the premises, we made sure to cover all bases.
End result
The new website delivers a refined, premium digital experience that balances Greene’s academic heritage with a modern, forward-looking design. Subtle animations, considered typography and a carefully evolved colour palette create a sophisticated aesthetic, while dynamic content components allow information to be presented clearly without overwhelming users.
A mobile-first approach ensures a seamless experience across devices, and SEO consultancy informed the site structure and content from the outset. To complement the redesign, XIST2 also delivered professional videography and photography, providing high-quality visual assets that bring the Greene’s experience to life and support ongoing marketing activity.
The result is an elegant, scalable website that supports Greene’s long-term growth and positions the college confidently in a competitive education landscape.
