Info
Over the university years, students interact with Student Services, Careers and AUBSU sections of MyAUB. The current design of these sections are not easy to use, information is placed in unorganised way, and there is no mobile optimisation. This redesign focused on creating a user-friendly experience by reorganising the information and making it easier to navigate through the new website that covers all three main areas: career services, AUBSU, and student services. I also included mobile optimisation so that the content fits on any screen size.
Role
This project was a part of my final major project for my university degree. I worked on it independently, conducting research, creating wireframes and designs, and developing the final product. I found the process of working on the entire project from start to finish to be very rewarding. It was also a great way to learn new skills and consolidate what I had already learned.
As my last ever university term began, I vegetated in a state of fatigue and anxiety. My motivation had left me; my energy levels were low (and) there was no fiery spark to be found anywhere within myself at all!
I wanted to know if I was alone feeling this way, so in a survey where 110 students responded, I found out that everyone feels stress at least 1x/week. Pressure and stress are serious problems for many people, but new research by Mental Health UK has found that 1 in 5 UK workers is too overwhelmed to handle the pressure and I found that similar to the AUB students. I also learned that students cope with stress in different ways. Some use lists to prioritise tasks, some turn to other people when they need someone else’s perspective or just want an ear-full of noise that will help them unwind; and there are also those who breakdown emotionally and cry because it becomes too much for them!
So I was wondering what can be done to help myself but also all the students who are struggling because of the stress that is affecting their mental health. I couldn’t help but notice that there are many resources on the MyAUB platform and it made me realise just how important this resource is for students. But why don’t they ask for help? I started my investigation by looking at the information architecture on the MyAUB platform and tried to make sense of it more in-depth.
I had a hunch that the MyAUB platform is difficult to use and students might not know where they should go for help. So, I made an experiment, I asked a few students to find the place where they would go (within the MyAUB platform) to book an appointment with the wellbeing team. The website was meant to be straightforward and simple, but it turned out that this design ended up making the site incredibly difficult for students. The task could have been completed in 4 clicks, but the students clicked around the site multiple times, not knowing what they are looking for.
I started my design process by creating sitemaps of the new website to gain an idea of my information architecture. This allowed me to see how the different pages on the site would be interconnected and what kind of hierarchy I would need to establish.
I began to wireframe the individual pages, starting with the homepage. I wanted to make sure that the most important information was prominently displayed and easy to find. Once I had a basic template for the site, I started to add in content, paying close attention to font choices and whitespace. By taking the time to plan out my design, I was able to create a website that was both visually appealing and easy to navigate.
The design and visual language of the website are modern and abstract. I used AUB colours to keep the branding simple while adding unique shapes throughout for an interesting look that’s easy on the eyes!
