Exploring msa.ms (old website)

I was looking around for a website to see if I could get an idea of how MSA does their branding, but it doesn't seem like one currently exists. However, going to their youtube channel in their About section, they reference a website available at the link msa.ms which doesn't seem to be supported anymore.

However, thanks to the Wayback Machine, I can visit the different versions of the site and see how it looked since it was created and published to the internet.

Mar 30 2015

This seems like the earliest available cached version of the website, and has a few key things to note about it. First, is the iconic purple accelerator branding, which is the background of every secondary block of information. The website also seems to feature the Microsoft Logo in the header as well as including the favicon in the website tab.

Front banner

In terms of content, there is an immediate banner of a person showing their co-worker something on a device and the name and tagline of the program: Microsoft Student Accelerator: Inspire. Develop. Innovate. There's a Register Now call to action which links to msa.ms/join and seems to be how people registered interest back then for the next intake.

About section

Scrolling further down, we have the About section which features a short paragraph about the program and the inclusion of the Microsoft tagline: With Inspire, Develop and Innovate highlighted.

The Register action is expanded upon to reveal it as perhaps a mailing system that lets you "stay updated with all the news, events and information about MSA".

MSA Pillars

Next, we have the 3 Key MSA Pillars which feature an icon and short description about MSA for three different ideas.

Program Schedule

Further down we have the program schedule for the MS Accelerator as it occurs over a series of months.

Contact & Footer

Finally, there is a Contact Us and Footer section which has details to email the New Zealand Microsoft branch as well as some standard Microsoft links (TOU, TradeMarks, Privacy, Azure, Twitter, Facebook).

Overall this is quite standard as a landing page gets, and it could definitely use with a modern facelift as well as more consistency with branding. There's definitely some minor CSS things that can be fixed to make things look nicer as well as some dynamic elements that can be introduced with single page layouts becoming more popular in websites today.

Apr 19 2015

It wouldn't be long before the website got a reworked design, coming one month after the previous installment (supposedly). This may have happened after the 2014-2015 MSA program ended, since now the website featured some success points and more information including what the MSA program had achieved to date.

New banner

The first thing is this almost full-width and almost full-height page spreader that incites a call to action and now with the MSA designed logo. The header has been drastically reworked to now feature the iconic purple and an active state indicating which page you're currently on. The missing image on the right I guess could be the Microsoft logo or the MSA logo as seen front and center now.

The image has also has been changed to students in a lecture hall most likely since the program is targeted towards students. It's resolution has taken quite a hit though and is very blurry so it might help with a slight change.

Scrolling down, I notice something else has changed. The header which previously didn't follow, now does - indicating the header is now static and stays at the top of the viewport (can actually go into the source code and confirm).

New About section

Also, the next section has been moved the initiatives upwards to become the new About section. I think it's an cool, but isn't too clear on its explanation of the problem. So maybe some content revision could help here.

Highlights in 2014-2015

Next on the page we have Highlights detailing information about the programs success in the form of a Infographic, an embedded YouTube video and the logos of employees that hired students from the MSA program.

Then we have the call to action and some links for more details for different people. I think this could do with having different icons than above since they represent different links.

New Program Schedule

Next, the Program schedule has been updated with a new look with some photos of the actual program on display. This is quite nice as it gives context to how the program operation actually looks like. Again however, the photos are not set up that great and take away from the professionalism - some being dimly lit, or unappealing for the aesthetic. Perhaps some custom graphics or a different layout that helps feature the graphics more prominently would improve it?

New footer

Finally, the footer has changed to a I guess more mobile friendly layout. It's shrunk in size and now features just external links for the program itself. All the MS guidelines and TOU aren't there anymore which is nice I guess, stripping away the unnecessary information. So I like this approach better, but maybe have the styling consistent instead of a block format where the text is center-aligned.

Aug 1 2015

Footer updated

This update simply added the previously missing external links that Microsoft likes to have on its websites. This being Contact, TOU, Trademark, Privacy Statement and the Azure hosting.

Aug 19 2015

The next update changed the call to action button on the main banner from a link to register to now asking for employers to register.

Jan 10 2016

Into the new year, the first change the website gets is the announcement of the new 2016 program. Seems the site will need constant updates featuring an up-to-date information and the updated link every year. What might be interesting is to have an archive to showcase the previous years. Having that type of format could be beneficial for having a blog format on the wordpress website and perhaps include Stories from participants in that year. Then I could also add a link to register as a Microsoft student partner! It's all coming together.

Mar 11 2016

March and the MSA Showcase event is coming up, so the button is now changed direct towards msa.ms/event. Those interested can register to attend to event which is probably a presentation night with information about the MSA program.

Mar 30 2016

Highlights in 2015-2016

On March 30th, the website's 'Highlight's section' is now updated with new infographics on statistics from the 2015-2016 program. The highlights from the previous year sadly have gone, so perhaps collating these and having them in an honorary section for display might be nice. Kind of like the awards in the glass cabinet they parade around schools.

The MSA logo

Also, I didn't notice but now I can see the MSA logo:

Introduction of MSP

Also with this update, a new page link was added to the navigation bar. This being a page with information on how to register to become a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP). Luckily this page was also archived, so we can have a look at what information was put on display.

The about section indicates what attributes they look for in Student Partners and what is on offer by becoming a student partner. It's noteworthy that there's thousands of MSPs around the world, so it makes sense that now the applications are handled by the higher HR body. Moreover, the MSP application seems to be done through the official Microsoft website.

Under this, they detail the application process to becoming a MSP. It's interesting to see the differences in the requirements and with the process compared to then in NZ and now here in Sydney. I don't believe MSPs now have to do a programming exercise nor work on the MSA Imagine Cup Junior to qualify, given the team is quite small I hear. Registering interests were also done through the same website and not handled externally.

There image of the 2015 MSPs was also changed to a YouTube link in the next update, but I'll just use this section to put it here.

May 24 2016

Registrations for MSA 2016 open

The program is ready, and now registrations have opened up!

MSA NZ Facebook group

Also, there seems to be a link to the New Zealand MSA Facebook group which is still active.

May 4 2017

Nav link removed

Doesn't seem like the Events section was getting a lot of love, so they've cleaned up the navbar.

Updated banner

With the growth of the Student Accelerator, the team has expanded to fill up the front spread of the website. Now in 2017, there is an updated link for the 2017 program and a quirky tagline using a spin on Microsoft's mission "Empowering Kiwi students to achieve more".

Updated About MSA

The new About section is more focused and specific, having details about particular dev skills that are taught which werent shown previously. Moreover, this section has moved away from the 3 key pillars (Inspire, Develop, Innovate) which is strange since it seemed significant in the MSA branding (namely the pillars).

Although, the paragraphs are shorter than before, with language and information thats easier for the public to understand compared to the previous iteration which had phrases like TouchDevelop workshops and Imagine Cup which not everyone may be familiar with. It might be nice to abstract this paragraph away though and have some responsive hover/reveal to glam it up here.

Updated specific party information

For the schools, students and organisations, this section was also updated to feature new icons and a slide hover animation when interacted with. The anchor links still have the text-decoration underline when hovering which takes away from this (doubling up on the feedback) so this could do with some facelift and consistency when compared with the graphics above.