UAL Graduate Showcase
UI / UX DESIGN
Provide a more equitable display space for students' work.
Strengthen graduates' interaction and connection with industry.
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TIME
6 month
ROLE
UI / UX Designer
DELIVERABLES
Wireframe
Roadmap
Design system
UI Design
LINKS
Problem Statement
UAL Graduate Showcase website was designed and launched in summer 2020.
The homepage was changed in 2021 to increase the exposure of student work. But it is considered that this has not addressed user issues, with a high bounce rate for visitors. This has varied at various points in the marketing campaigns for the platform (at launch, ongoing organic campaigns, paid marketing campaign) and has been as high as 50%.
Challenge
After tracking and reviewing last year's data, we identified four metrics that represent the "quality" of user access that needs improvement:
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Bounce rate and target
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Exit rates and targets
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Roll speed and target
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Page dwell time and goals
The Discovery
It all starts with understanding the user. Through user interviews, our goal is to understand the main reasons users leave the page.
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They found the structure of the page confusing and they weren't sure where they were 'supposed to go'.
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The users were drawn to the student work component but traffic through to projects poor.
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some of the users struggled with the interaction on desktop.
Deeper Insights
Graduates often have a sense of ownership, and they want more space on the website to display their graduate work.
The students did not feel any connection to the site other than presenting their work.
Reframing the Problem
Analytics suggest that the overwhelming majority of users are not engaging with the primary content, too many components and new mobile home pages are important factors to improve the bounce rate.
Project Goals
Simplify the page, adjust the layout.
Provide a more equitable display space for students' work.
Strengthen graduates' interaction and connection with industry.
Design process
In the early sprints, the design team focused on sitemaps, user flows, wireframes, and prototypes. We also set up user tests with students to test this new experience. The purpose of user testing is to explore users' impressions of the prototype, how they think it compares to the current version, any problems encountered, and opportunities for improvement.
In the early sprints, the design team focused on sitemaps, user flows, wireframes, and prototypes. We also set up user tests with students to test this new experience. The purpose of user testing is to explore users' impressions of the prototype, how they think it compares to the current version, any problems encountered, and opportunities for improvement.