01

Mega Panel

Best when we want the menu to feel editorial and browsable, with clear grouping and featured shortcuts.

02

Tabbed Drawer

Best when Services grows fastest and we need to reduce menu height while keeping categories scannable.

03

Explore Overlay

Best when we want a shorter top bar and are willing to shift browsing into a richer, search-friendly panel.

04

Hybrid Columns

Best when we want to preserve the current dropdown behavior but make it shorter, wider, and easier to scan.

Mega Panel by Task Area

Turns the current tall list into a broad, lower-height panel with grouped columns and one featured rail.

UT Austin Enterprise Technology
Why It Helps

It reduces vertical sprawl, gives us clearer grouping, and makes room for featured links without burying core services.

Tradeoff

It is the most visually substantial option and will need careful responsive behavior on smaller desktop widths.

Tabbed Drawer with Category Rail

Uses a left-hand category rail so the menu height stays steady even as the service catalog gets deeper.

UT Austin Enterprise Technology
Popular
Collaboration
Teaching
AI Tools
Security
Infrastructure
Projects
Popular Services

Frequently used services and tools

See all services →
Microsoft 365 Email, meetings, files, Office apps
Canvas LMS Courses, assignments, grading
UT Box Cloud storage and sharing
DocuSign Official signature workflows
Zoom & Panopto Meetings, lecture capture, video
LinkedIn Learning Self-paced learning and training
Why It Helps

It scales cleanly as categories grow, and it creates a clearer mental model for services than one long mixed list.

Tradeoff

It adds an extra interaction layer because users browse categories before seeing links, so labeling has to be very strong.

Compact Header with Explore Overlay

Shrinks the permanent navigation and moves deep browsing into a broader overlay that can support search, shortcuts, and audience entry points.

UT Austin Enterprise Technology
Open Canvas Request support Use AI tools Find training
Why It Helps

It keeps the header cleanest, leaves room for future growth, and makes search feel like a first-class wayfinding tool.

Tradeoff

It is the biggest behavior shift from the current site and asks users to learn a more intentional “browse or search” pattern.

Hybrid Dropdown with 3 Columns

This keeps the overall personality of the current menu, but swaps the tall single list for grouped columns that feel more balanced and less overwhelming.

UT Austin Enterprise Technology
Why It Helps

It preserves the existing mental model, shortens the menu immediately, and gives each group enough visual room to scan without redesigning the whole header system.

Tradeoff

It is a refinement rather than a full rethink, so it improves the current problem a lot, but it may still need a stronger category strategy as the catalog keeps expanding.

Pick one direction to refine

The fastest path is to choose the strongest information architecture pattern first, then I can turn that concept into a polished, realistic header mockup with tighter typography, spacing, hover states, and mobile behavior.

Hybrid Columns Mega Panel Tabbed Drawer Explore Overlay