DESIGNING AND PROTOTYPING A DIGITAL ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARCHIVE FOR THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES, JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT This project presents the design and prototyping of a Digital Academic Journal Archive System for the College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences at Joseph Ayo Babalola University. The study was motivated by the need to improve accessibility to institutional research for students and academic staff, addressing challenges such as limited access to academic materials, poor user interface in existing platforms, lack of preview functionality, and inadequate search tools. A user-centered approach was employed, using informal interviews and observational methods to identify key user needs and inform system requirements. The solution incorporates a clean, intuitive interface that enables students to browse and search journals by department, author, title, and keywords. It also features a personalized dashboard for download tracking and bookmarking, as well as a secure administrative portal for uploading validated academic content. A high-fidelity prototype was developed using Figma, following a structured design process that integrated user feedback into functional wireframes and interactive components. The system is underpinned by a relational database structure that ensures efficient storage, retrieval, and traceability of journal records. The results of this study demonstrate a scalable and intuitive framework for enhancing research access and academic engagement, with potential for adaptation across other faculties and institutions.