UX DESIGN | EWB, Australia
Client: Engineers Without Borders, Australia (EWB) is a member based, for-purpose organisation creating social value through engineering that spans four countries across the Asia-Pacific and Australia.
Brief: Redesign the public facing website for Engineers Without Borders, Australia. The primary objectives were to:
Improve navigation, flow and overall user experience
Increase engagement (and funding) by expanding the ecosystem of members and volunteers
Restructure and organise content to appeal to all segments of the user base
Improve visual language and develop website using scalable solution such as WordPress (rather than bespoke in-house web development)
My Role:
As a UX/UI designer, I was tasked to redesign the website to bring it to the modern age with simple navigation, well organised content and delightful to use.
Reviewed existing website to identify key issues and areas of improvements
Took design decisions based on the quantitative and qualitative research
Created UI design templates for the different type of pages
Worked closely with the Digital Operations Lead and Communications Manager
Background:
The EWB website has grown organically over the years.
Pages and content were randomly added on demand, resulting in a very confusing navigation flows
The website was text / content heavy which made it extremely difficult to find the right information quickly
Restructure of the membership registration and donation process as it was very confusing for the members
Application and donation forms were very long with many input fields and duplicate information
Approach:
Google Analytics:: After understanding the business goals, requirements and expectations for the project, I reviewed Google Analytics to see the performance of the website and user behaviour. I got insights into users, commonly used pages, users flow, click through’s and drop off points and things to consider for the improvement.
Site Review: I conducted site review to find usability issues and inconsistencies. I also documented site flow and analysed the user and process flows for the potential improvements.
Contextual Enquiry: Contextual enquiry with the users allowed me to observe their interaction with the website and provided valuable information on their pain points. It showed me that the information architecture of the site was confusing, difficult to navigate and hard to find the right information quickly. This was in line with the pain points I have identified during my site audit.
User Interview and survey: Conducted surveys and interviews with users to gain insights into why and how often they use the website. Online card sorting exercise helped me define the top level navigation.
Comparative Analysis: I conducted comparative analysis mainly to examine donation process, application forms and content strategy against EWB International websites as well as other not for profit organisation including Doctors without borders, Kiva and Movember. Some of the best practises and ideas I found interesting :
Brief and easy donation process
Intuitive and guided forms
Clear storytelling with images of real people in action
Impact stories and statistics
Key insights:
With this research, user interactions and data, I gained a better understanding and insights. In summary:
EWB website has very distinct and diverse user segments - students, professionals, academicians, volunteers, donors, corporate sponsors and partners. All with different purpose, needs and expectations!
Out of all, two main user of the EWB website were the students and the professionals looking to get involved, participate or volunteer with the programs
Users have to navigate to different places (sometimes 4 to 5 level down) to find the information they are after
Messaging was not clear about what EWB does and the impact they have on the community
Benefits of being involved (volunteering or participation) were not communicated clearly
Long and complex forms with duplicate/redundant information
Problem Statement:
How might we simplify the website, engage different users, make content easy to find and make the platform more appealing to the users.
Sketching / Design Exploration:
With better understanding, I started sketching the pages as it’s a quick way to test the designs and concepts. The aim was to:
Simplify the flow (minimal redirection) by providing all the necessary content at one place
Reduce no. of steps (and clicks) to accomplish the tasks
Reduce confusion by defining clear objectives of each of the page and by restructuring and reorganising the content
Final Designs:
After iterating the designs based on user testing and feedback, I designed pages using Wordpress (Theme: Divi). The redesigned EWB Website went live in late Nov’ 2019.
Solution uplift:
Simple and clear navigation which directs user to appropriate content or task they are after
Improved flow enables user to accomplish their task/goal far quicker (less no. of clicks)
Provide all necessary information on the page with contextual CTA (call to action) button
Clear massaging about the company and transparency of Impact
Cross referencing of Blog, Stories and News for a more relevant content
Design style and created templates for different type of pages e.g. Programs, Projects, Blogs and News. This provides consistency across the website and makes it easy to maintain on the Wordpress application
