Estonian Academy of Arts / Higher education / 2017-Present

A redesign is a moment. An institution keeps moving.

I joined EKA’s website redesign in 2017, built the interactions and later integrated Stuudio Stuudio’s visual identity. I still maintain the site.

Visit EKAAll case studies

Estonian Academy of Arts website showing admissions, curricula, news, and events.

research before the build

2016→

EKA's earlier web-analysis plan covered interviews, surveys, usability testing, analytics, SEO, and conversion before HAAM joined.

HAAM joins

2017

I inherited an existing WordPress site, research, wireframes, and proposed designs, then took the redesign into implementation and testing.

a later system layer

CVI + redesign

The new visual identity arrived with another redesign and had to become responsive, reusable behaviour rather than a static graphic handoff.

technical stewardship

2026→

The current mandate covers server upgrades, accessibility, performance, cybersecurity, and continued platform health.

In brief

Evidence JSON ↗

Role: Website implementation and maintenance since 2017; 2026 security, server and accessibility work.EKA ↗
Credit: Initial research predated HAAM. Later identity by Stuudio Stuudio.Visual identity ↗

Starting point

The research came first.

EKA already had research and wireframes when I joined in 2017. The task was to turn them into a working website.

Work

From wireframes to a running site.

01Review
Existing research, analytics and WordPress content.
02Build
Mobile navigation, search, courses and editorial tools.
03Maintain
CVI integration, handover, fixes and upgrades.

Existing work

Start with the research.

The academy had already tested ideas and supplied wireframes. I reviewed the gaps against the live content.

Interaction design

Design the missing states.

Mobile menus, search, galleries, course registration and login all needed decisions beyond the mockups.

Testing

Keep one shared issue queue.

Trello connected testing, editor requests, design feedback and bugs.

Visual identity

Implement Stuudio Stuudio's CVI.

I translated the new visual system into responsive components on the existing platform.

2026

Keep the site working.

Server upgrades, security, performance and accessibility, with visual checks against the existing design.

2026 modernization

2026 modernization tests.

Server and theme upgrades, tested for accessibility, security, performance and visual consistency.

Flowchart showing how EKA's 2017 visual contract is preserved while the 2026 theme is modernised and repeatedly checked for automated QA and visual parity before release. — The loop is intentionally conservative: 25 PHP tests, 11 smoke checks, 72 route comparisons and human visual review feed two gates. Failures return to targeted remediation; passes move to release, public noindex staging, Lighthouse and external scanners, then back into the next QA cycle.

After launch

Ongoing support.

A shared Trello process that outlived the original launch cycle
Editorial guidance and reusable structures for distributed publishing
Ongoing server, accessibility, performance, and security work as part of the product lifecycle

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