The New GoPrincetonTigers.Com

TigerBlog isn't sure exactly when "signs" was deemed no longer expressive enough and had to be replaced by "signage," or when "the flu" was upgraded to "flu-like symptoms." There's a whole list of phrases that are standard issue these days that nobody ever said a few years ago, and TB isn't sure why perfectly good phraseology that lasted ever since the first caveman carved an arrow on a stone to point the other cavemen away from the lions and mumbled "sign" is no longer acceptable.

As an aside, the dictionary defines "signage" as "signs considered as a group; the design or use of signs and symbols."

Another word that has come up everywhere these days is "branding." This is a great word to use in meetings when you're in too much of a rush to say "consistent messaging."

In case you haven't been there yet, the newly redesigned goprincetontigers.com launched today. We hear at TigerBlog HQ think that it looks pretty good (of course we do; we're the ones who designed it), and we hope that those who go to the site will agree with us.

GoPrincetonTigers.com turns 10 years old on Oct. 23, and TB is pretty sure this is the fifth different look for the site. The first athletics Website that Princeton had was called "Tiger Web Lockerroom" and had a URL of princeton.edu/athletics; it took many months of meetings to get the University to agree to have a site that ended in .com.

Through the years, the site has grown from very little content to where it is today, with any number of different ways to catch up on the Tigers. There are also four different sites that Princeton athletics now offers, and in the name of "branding," the redesign seeks to integrate those four as best as possible.

There is goprincetontigers.com, which is the home for traditional sports information content. There is goprincetontigers.tv, which is four weeks old and seems to be off to a good start as the home for all video. There is TigerBlog (TB's personal favorite). There is princetonvarsityclub.org.

The three "satellite" sites are now more than ever easy to find off of the main page. The redesign also includes embedded video, bigger pictures, easier navigation and other features, including links to what will be an expanded video store, tickets and multimedia options.

TigerBlog is a big believer that Websites don't need to be award-winning in their design; they need to be easy to navigate. Each redesign for goprincetontigers.com has focused on this, as well as making it less busy to the eye. It's not easy to accomplish this, as with 38 varsity sports, corporate sponsorship requirements, pictures, video and everything else, there is a need for a great deal of, well, stuff, on the page.

Anyway, hopefully the reviews for the new site will be positive, and our efforts at "branding" will be successful. So far, all signage points in the right direction.