Fully redesigned website experience, optimized for the user base, and scalable to meet the needs of a rapidly growing institution with international partners.
Conducting UX Research, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs, determining information architecture, responsive design, testing and iderating the product, graphic design.
Co-writing the RFP, collaborating with the school’s lawyers, coordinating progress with the software development company, ensuring the technologies implemented are compatible with the University systems, assisting in installing the product on school servers and connecting it to school systems and databases, stakeholder management, overseeing and facilitating the partnership and coordination between the vendor and the University to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
Conduct a comprehensive analysis identifying usability issues and develop solutions to address them.
Utilize user-centered design principles to design, test, and iterate a prototype incorporating the solutions identified in Phase 1.
Obtain internal approval and support for the proposed redesign.
Prepare a Request for Proposal and establish a partnership with a reputable external agency.
Develop and integrate the website with the university's servers and databases.
Implementation
The design process for the website involved both my own expertise and valuable input from my project partner, Michał Szymanek, who has served as a website administrator at the University for the past 10 years. Michał provided valuable insights into the university's operations and common user requests and pain points, as well as a deep understanding of the previous CMS. The project was overseen by our department manager, Wacław Urbański, who provided guidance on the implementation of school systems in the new design. We also had the privilege of collaborating with the University's team of lawyers, led by Monika Lis, who ensured that all documents were in compliance with legal guidelines. Aleksander Byczyński shared his expertise during the Request for Proposal process and worked with Monika to prepare the necessary legal documents for selecting a coding company for the prototype. Janusz Kokot and Jarosław Kołodziejczyk will assist in the implementation of the website on the University's servers.
A year before I was brought in on the team the University conducted early research which included surveys conducted with over 700 students and the university’s management team. The results of the surveys were summarized and handed to me upon the start of the project
My objective for this research was to:
To conduct my own research, I first sought to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context in which our users operate. This involved conducting interviews with employees and incorporating input from my partner to gain insights into the flow of information within the university.
To gather more detailed data, I carefully reviewed previous survey results and website statistics, as well as conducted an accessibility audit. I also conducted one-on-one interviews with seven to ten individuals from each user group.
Through this process, I was able to identify the most common spaces in which our users operate, their habits, and pain-points. Based on this information, I divided our user base into seven groups: candidates, polish students, international students, alumni, professors, administrative employees, and business partners.
Our research indicated that different user groups have distinct priorities and needs when accessing the website. The current design, which was based on the internal structure of the university rather than the information users sought, proved to be insufficiently intuitive. The dense and poorly spaced content, overlong hamburger menu, and inadequate search function all contributed to a suboptimal user experience.
Additionally, the website did not meet the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, and the CMS had outdated editorial tools. It was also not optimized for mobile devices, which deterred the majority of users from accessing the website via their phones.
As a result, employees and students turned to alternative sources, such as Facebook, for university news and updates. Furthermore, candidates and partners encountered difficulties navigating the website, particularly due to the discrepancy between the English and Polish versions.
In my research I divided our competitors into two groups: direct and indirect. I then analyzed them based on first impressions, Interaction and Functionality, Visual Design, and Content.
The process of prioritization was based on the most requested features (from students, employees, alumni, candidates, and businesses partners) and most common pain points we learned about during the research phase.
Key Assumptions:
Goal: Compare if the proposed IA was more intuitive than the current IA.
These tests showed that while TOT (Time on Task) was much shorter (about 4x) users were so used to the old information architecture and navigation by structure they still used the same approach even with new IA (Information Architecture) based on information and categories it falls into.
Lo-fi prototype:
Hi-Fi-Prototype
The prototype was designed with responsive capabilities, ensuring a seamless transition between mobile and desktop devices. It has also been tested for readability at scaled resolutions up to 200%.
The website was crafted to meet the needs of WCAG 2.1. It also had extra functions that would allow users to enlarge text and change the contrast.
The Request for Proposal writing process for the website and it’s CMS required extensive collaboration and research, resulting in a document spanning 70 pages. The document outlines the functional requirements and desired features for the website, including search engine optimization, information architecture, and responsive design. A key challenge in this process was striking a balance between clearly specifying our requirements while also allowing for flexibility in the implementation approaches of potential vendors.
Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Canva, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, InDesign, DaVinci Resolve, Mirro, Optimal Workshop, Zoom, HTML, CSS, SQL, Linux, Apach, Wordpress.
Team building, team management, wireframing, prototyping, graphic design, motion graphics, user testing, ux research, interaction design, user-centered design, usability testing, user interface design, user experience, information architecture, responsive web design, CSS, HTML, accessible design, responsive web design, leadership, team building, team management, problem-solving. Project management, UX research, UX design, wireframing, prototyping, conducting usability studies, accessibility, determining information architecture, responsive design, testing and iderating the product, graphic design, co-writing the RFP, coordinating progress with the software development company, testing compatibility with University systems, stakeholder management, overseeing and facilitating the partnership and coordination between the vendor and the University.
Enhancing lives through thoughtful design characterized by a balance of form and function
