Getting Loud About Hospitable Experience Design
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Everyone in higher ed agrees a website should treat people well. So why do many websites fall so short?
Joel Goodman has spent close to 20 years closing that gap. He ran Bravery Media for 13 years, named a framework — Hospitable Design — and evangelized his approach across the field through talks, podcasts, and client work.
The idea is simpler than it sounds and harder than anyone admits: a website isn't for the dean who wants his photo up top. It's for the 17-year-old trying to find out if you have her major and whether she can afford it. Joel grew up around the hospitality industry and built a career arguing higher ed should treat that person like a guest and create a space for them that’s welcoming, attentive, and anchored in care
He walks Mallory and Volt through where the instinct came from, why an idea everyone nods along to still doesn't get built, and what AI search does to a philosophy that rests on the person showing up. He's still the critic he's always been, still hoping for better despite the optimist that he isn’t, and still finding the next problem to name … and solve.
🔑 What You'll Take Away
Why "treat people well" is easy to agree with and hard to build
What the restaurant floor teaches about higher ed web design
Why the homepage's real job is to get people off of it as quickly as possible
The three questions every prospective student asks first
Why the obvious idea stalls inside most institutions
What AI search does for the concept of hospitality, and why the fewer visitors who still reach your site matter more than ever