After the in-person kick-off meeting we conducted a heuristic evaluation as a starting point. Then we moved forward with 7 stakeholder interviews to gain more knowledge about the university. From the interviews and the competitor analysis, we created an impact effort matrix and the assumptive personas and user journeys. The brand persona workshop offered an opportunity to understand more about the client's perspective and future requirements for the new website. Using the takeaways from the workshop we redesigned the Information Architecture structure and started to work on the new design system.

We started the redesign process by testing the wireframes of the desktop views of each page. Testing and iteration rounds with local and international students helped us discover the need for new sections. By collaborating with the head of departments we finetuned the services we wanted to show on the pages. As a result, we updated and tested the website’s structure again.

We also laid the groundwork for the new branding and UI. The typography direction was finalised, and the grid system was designed based on the architectural structure of the campus buildings. Our team based the design decisions, such as introducing light and dark mode, on accessibility and tech standards.

During the design cycles, we developed a better-functioning search system, filters, and tags. We also went back to the Information Architecture to improve the usability of the website.

In terms of UI, we also focused on the imagery and videos we wanted to use in the hero sections, while creating high-fidelity prototypes.

As one of the final steps, our team moved onto designing the mobile views. The modular design our team created made the implementation easy and fast. The testing rounds revealed the need for some adjustments and the importance of tabs for easy navigation. The team closed the project by implementing these final iterations.

The designs UX studio created are now in use. The resulting website provides a better experience by it’s user friendly design and focus on what users really look for. It also keeps the users’ attention by removing their mental load while they are exploring information.

The design system we handed over to the client is also helping them create any kind of materials to use across the university that is in line with their new look. The modular design also allows the client to create new pages without UX studio while maintaining consistency throughout the site.