SUMMARY
As my university capstone project, I worked with a UX team to redesign the website for the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University.
The client requested an improvement to dated aesthetics and limited interactivity, hoping to reinforce their image as a reputable school of design, media, and journalism.
PROCESS
Our team researched competitors, conducted and presented user interviews, generated an information architecture, conducted user testing, reiterated the sitemap, prototyped high-fidelity wireframes, and presented our findings to the client.
Below are excerpts from my final case study detailing the steps of the process.
RESEARCH & STRATEGY
After consulting with a representative of the client, we derived a problem statement and goal statement.
We all researched competing schools, analyzing both strengths to emulate and opportunities from which to stand out.
After conducting user interviews and analyzing my findings, I consolidated several important insights.
I translated these insights to actionable suggestions for improvement.
I proposed a sitemap that more intuitively tells the story of the school and addresses the issues users faced.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
I designed the section “Resources for... > Current Students.” My goal was to design it as a interactive centralized hub designed for students wanting to connect with the school or find general information.
The client required that we use a particular Drupal template, which limited the design to specified elements.
Student Organizations, which appears higher in the information hierarchy.
Student Awards, which promotes individual student portfolios along with their work.
Hours for the checkout room, which had previously been circulated only through email.
Information on booking a studio, a new page containing much-needed information.
Hours for the print lab, which had previously been circulated only through email.
LOOKING AHEAD
The client approved of our presentation and discussed sustainable ways to maintain the site.
(As of now, the site has still not been published.)