The structure of the Information Architecture is non-existent for research content.
Consumer wants to provide users with an option to be able to find these articles through the navigation menu.
01 Information Architecture
02 Content hierarchy of pages
03 User Interface
3 months
Feb - May 2024
Project was a collaborative
work of 5 students
Post content audit analysis, we figured that website’s content was largely relevant and effective. Hence, we mainly worked towards solving the discoverability of the content and inconsistencies.
= Information Architecture
= The navigation menu
= Home page layout
= The search page
= User Interface
= Tagging system
= Breadcrumbs
= The functionality and content structure of the search page.
= I was responsible of the search page’s Mid Fi prototype.
= The visual communication of all the presentations, reports and poster involved in this project.
= Majorly to the research, user testing, content audit analysis.
= To the ideation and refinement meetings throughout the project.
= In cleaning up some of the Hi Fi prototypes for a while.
/ foundation
Before meeting with Consumer, we analyzed the project history and brief, developed a research plan, set a timeline, and drafted a reverse brief.
/ resources
We studied Everyday Information Architecture by Lisa Maria Martin, explored articles, analyzed websites, and researched best and bad practices.
/ content audit
Our content audit revealed inconsistencies and weak connections while highlighting positive elements to retain.
/ usability tests
We conducted usability tests with members and non-members (6 each), revealing confusion around terminology and a strong preference for search navigation. Members often arrived via emails and magazines but were unaware of site articles.
/ open card sort
An open card sort (35+ participants) helped us categorize content.
/ stakeholder interviews
Stakeholder interviews provided insights into management expectations, past explorations, and limitations.
/ brainstorming and mid fi
Based on our combined research, we started ideating on the prototypes. During this time we also set our priorities for our deliverables to Consumers. Tasks were then evenly distributed among the team.
/ hi fi and refinement
We polished the mid-fidelity prototype and used the insights from the usability tests to rectify mistakes and create hi-fidelity prototypes.
/ design system
We have also delivered a design system to support the future development and growth of our prototypes.
/ usability
We tested 6 participants across desktop and mobile. Mobile users faced text size issues, and all struggled to differentiate "Product reviews" from "Articles." While search functioned well, the "sort by" placement caused slight confusion.
= How to bounce back, not just with projects but with failed communications as well.
= We spent over a week cleaning Hi Fi prototypes due to inconsistencies in margins and grids from our divided Mid Fi work. Without a unified design system from early on, alignment issues slowed us down. In hindsight, rebuilding HiFi from scratch would have been more efficient.
= Through this experience, we learned that frequent meetings can become unproductive if discussions aren’t focused or if we revisit the same points. We also recognized the importance of understanding and adapting to different working habits to improve group dynamics and find common ground more effectively.
