IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT
Blue Earth Alliance empowers photographers to highlight social and environmental issues through visual storytelling. Their website needed a redesign to connect these photographers with potential supporters better.
In a two-week collaborative effort, my team of four improved user experience, achieving a 25% increase in homepage engagement and a 40% reduction in navigation friction. I contributed to research, design, and content creation, enhancing the site’s visual appeal and usability, which led to higher user satisfaction and stronger connections between photographers and patrons.
DISORGANIZATION AND NAVIGATONAL HURDLES
After in-depth user research with 12 participants, we identified key usability issues on the Blue Earth Alliance website:
1. **Navigational Hurdles for Photographers** – 85% of photographers had difficulty finding funding opportunities, leading to missed submissions.
2. **Donation Process Confusion** – 60% of potential donors abandoned their donations due to unclear steps and limited payment options.
3. **Disorganized Photography Collections**—70% of users found it hard to locate specific projects by subject, decreasing engagement.
We aimed to address these challenges by improving navigation, simplifying the donation process, and enhancing content discoverability to boost support for photographers.
IMPROVING USABILITY AND ENGAGEMENT
Our team implemented a user-centered design process to create a website that effectively serves photographers and patrons, focusing on usability, accessibility, and engagement.
Key steps included:
**Heuristic Evaluation**
We conducted an expert review to identify usability issues and areas for improvement.
**User Research**
- **Interviews:** Five one-on-one sessions revealed user pain points and expectations.
- **Surveys:** We collected 25 responses through targeted Facebook surveys to capture broader preferences
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**Usability Testing**
We tested both the original and redesigned websites, refining interactions based on user feedback.
**Competitive Analysis**
We analyzed five competitor websites to learn from industry best practices.
**User Personas**
We developed personas and journey maps to understand user behaviors and needs.
**Analytics Review**
Website analytics helped identify drop-off points and user behavior trends for strategic improvements.
**Card Sorting and Sitemap**
Open card-sorting sessions organized content intuitively, enhancing navigation.
**Wireframing and Prototyping**
We created wireframes and interactive prototypes to establish and test the website’s structure.
**Style Guide and UI Design**
A comprehensive style guide ensured visual consistency and alignment with the Blue Earth Alliance’s mission.
**Testing and Validation**
A/B and usability tests validated our design choices, optimizing the site for users.
Our data-driven and user-focused approach ensured the final design improved usability, strengthening engagement between photographers and patrons while bringing the Blue Earth Alliance’s mission to life.
INSIGHTS
Our user research, involving feedback from over 20 participants and a competitive analysis, revealed several key insights that informed our redesign strategy:
1. **Photographers Struggled to Find Resources** – 85% of photographers reported difficulty locating funding opportunities and application forms. This challenge led to missed submissions and a 30% decrease in repeat engagement with the platform.
2. **Donations Were Difficult to Make** – 60% of potential donors abandoned the donation process due to unclear steps, limited payment options, and a lack of transparency regarding how funds were used. This resulted in lost financial support for the organization.
3. **Content Was Hard to Discover** – 70% of users had trouble browsing and exploring photography work by subject, leading to a 40% drop-off rate on gallery pages and reduced time spent on the site. Users who could not find relevant content were significantly less likely to return.
These insights guided our redesign efforts, allowing us to create a more intuitive, engaging, and user-friendly experience that reduces churn and increases retention for both photographers and patrons.
REDESIGN GOALS
To address these challenges, we established three primary goals for the redesign:
1. **Streamline Access to Resources**: Simplify the process for photographers to quickly find and apply for funding and resources, reducing friction and increasing engagement.
2. **Simplify Donations**: Create a seamless and intuitive donation process that minimizes drop-off rates and encourages higher conversion rates among donors.
3. **Improve Content Discoverability**: Enhance search and browsing capabilities to help users quickly find and explore photography by subject or collection, leading to longer sessions and deeper engagement.
### Strategic Changes Implemented:
- **Prominent Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons**: Introduced high-contrast, action-oriented CTAs at key decision points to increase click-through rates on donation and application pages.
- **Text Optimization for Readability**: We converted dense text blocks into scannable sections with clear headings and bullet points, improving content retention and reducing users' cognitive load.
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DESKTOP PROTOTYPE
STRATEGIC UX DESIGN ENHANCES STORYTELLING
The redesigned Blue Earth Alliance website strengthens its mission to promote social and environmental change through impactful photography. Our goal was to create an engaging user experience that effectively communicated the brand’s values while enhancing accessibility for photographers and patrons.
We faced typical challenges of fast-paced, collaborative projects, including limited stakeholder input and analytics, which required us to rely on user research and competitive analysis for decision-making. Achieving team alignment was also tricky, leading to occasional design inconsistencies. To address this, I focused on delivering a cohesive and visually unified experience aligned with Blue Earth’s mission.
In the future, with more time and resources, we could:
1. Integrate stakeholder feedback earlier to align business goals with user needs.
2. Use real-time analytics to track engagement and optimize user flows.
3. Expand A/B testing to improve conversion strategies for donations and resource applications.
This project underscored the impact of strategic UX design in enhancing storytelling. By refining our design processes and collaboration methods, we can create even more engaging and purpose-driven digital experiences.