Work

About

Resume

Work

Multiple Hats

Creative Director
UI/UX Designer
Researcher

Duration

10 Weeks
School Project

Interesting Learnings

Learnings

Emotional Design
Progressive Disclosure

The Squad

Owen Hudock
Arden Hanks
Kenzie Alderson

Problem Statement

The MySCAD portal is struggling with engaging its creatively-driven Gen-Z students, who expect a dynamic and visually stunning platform that beyond inspires their artistic expression.

Read my article on The Rookies

Current Demand

MySCAD is Ripe for Renewal

MySCAD is Ripe
for Renewal

As the primary online platform for SCAD students and faculty, MySCAD plays a vital role in supporting academic and administrative activities. Yet, its current state reveals a pressing need for modernization, as users increasingly expect a more streamlined, responsive, and personalized experience.

The current MySCAD Portal: Functional yet overwhelming and uninspiring

Understand Students

We initiated the project with usability testing, gathering user feedback and behavioral insights from a diverse group of participants, representing various expertise levels and academic majors.

Stuti Bhatnagar
Junior, Industrial Design Major
Abbie Schneider
Junior, Graphic Design Major
Elyse Redwine
Sophomore, Animation Major
Anna Kate Breeding
Junior, Sound Design Major
Lorenzo Fin
Freshman, ID Major
Eric Ellert
Professor, Mathematics
Lino Ribolla
Professor, ADBR
Jenny Mischel
Professor, Psychology
Martin Juráš
Professor, Mathematics

Anna Kate Breeding

Junior, Sound Design Major

“It is painful to use this portal every single damn day”

“It is painful to use this portal
every single damn day”

Abbie Schneider

Junior, Graphic Design Major

“ There’s always a million step to get to where I want to go ”

“ There’s always a million step
to get to where I want to go ”

Lorenzo Fin

Freshman, Industrial Design Major

Freshman, ID Major

“ I never remember how to get to what I want even though I complete the same task everyday”

Insights to Design Principles

Our design journey began with an in-depth examination of the existing design, combined with insights from multiple usability testing rounds and methodologies. After a thorough data affinity analysis, we formulated three essential North Stars that provided a clear direction for our design process, ensuring a solution that met the needs of our users.

Task Completion Rate

Time on Task

Satisfaction Ratings

Screen Recordings

Heuristic Evaluations

Contextual Inquiry Notes

SUS Scores

Feedbacks & Comments

First Click Analysis

3 Usability Testing Rounds

System Complexity Ratings

3 Insightful North Stars 🌟

Inefficient Task Management

Students face difficulties in accessing frequently used tasks due to the current cluttered information architecture, resulting in a cumbersome experience.

Inefficient Task Management

Students face difficulties in accessing frequently used tasks due to the current cluttered information architecture, resulting in a cumbersome experience.

Visual Overload & Fragmentation

The proliferation of blue hyperlinks from disparate services fragments the user experience, leading to a sense of information fatigue and decreased the overall usability.

Visual Overload & Fragmentation

The proliferation of blue hyperlinks from disparate services fragments the user experience, leading to a sense of information fatigue and decreased the overall usability.

Lack of Personalization and Autonomy

Students express frustration with the limited ability to customize and personalize their overall portal experience, leading to a sense of monotony and disengagement in the long term.

Lack of Personalization and Autonomy

Students express frustration with the limited ability to customize and personalize their overall portal experience, leading to a sense of monotony and disengagement in the long term.

Sketches to Wireframes

I led the team to start rebuild the website's information architecture by sketching and wireframing the new layout, prioritize important information based on student's desirability.

We crafted the new MySCAD
woith a refreshed visual identity

Fresh Designs

We crafted the new MySCAD with a refreshed visual identity, characterized by a subtle yet sophisticated color palette, a dynamic and responsive layout, and intuitive information architecture. Additionally, we implemented expressive iconography and thoughtful graphic design elements to enhance the overall user experience, promoting clarity, consistency, and emotional engagement.

We crafted the new MySCAD
woith a refreshed visual identity

New Homepage

Insights to Design

Top Priorities Revealed

We listened to user feedback and transformed the homepage to prioritize what matters most: My Courses. Now, users can instantly access their course information, front and center, without any extra clicks. By surfacing this critical content, we've simplified the user experience, saving time and reducing friction.

Insights to Design

Foster Personalization

We've revolutionized the user experience with Customizable Widgets on the homepage.

Students can now tailor their dashboard to their unique needs, effortlessly accessing frequently used resources and completing common tasks.

No more digging through folders and links – everything they need is just a click away, empowering them to work smarter, not harder.

We've revolutionized the user experience with Customizable Widgets on the homepage. No more digging through folders and links – everything they need is just a click away, empowering them to work smarter, not harder.

Insights to Design

Enhance Productivity

Students' hectic schedules can lead to overlooked responsibilities, such as tax deadlines and school bills.

In response, I designed a student-centric task management system that leverages dynamic scheduling and personalized notifications to keep students on track.

Students' hectic schedules can lead to overlooked responsibilities, such as tax deadlines and school bills.

In response, I designed a student-centric task management system that leverages dynamic scheduling and personalized notifications to keep students on track.

Quantifiable Success

To measure the effectiveness of the redesigned MySCAD portal, we tracked key performance indicators (KPIs) and gathered feedback from users. The results are striking, with significant improvements across multiple areas.

Positive Qualitative Feedbacks
Achieved positive surprises from all testers, rated very intuitive, smart and valuable.
Overal Intuitiveness Score
Achieve the highest score for Intuitiveness, compared to 1.6/4 of the current design.
System Usability Score (SUS)
Achieve nearly 90% of the reliable SUS score of the new re-design.
Overall Complexity Level
Reduce 40% complexity of the entire portal, from 3.5/4 to 1.9/4.
Average First Click Success Rate
Increase nearly 30% of success rate in the last round of usability testing.

Positive Qualitative Feedbacks
Achieved positive surprises from all testers, rated very intuitive, smart and valuable.
Overal Intuitiveness Score
Achieve the highest score for Intuitiveness, compared to 1.6/4 of the current design.
System Usability Score (SUS)
Achieve nearly 90% of the reliable SUS score of the new re-design.
Overall Complexity Level
Reduce 40% complexity of the entire portal, from 3.5/4 to 1.9/4.
Average First Click Success Rate
Increase nearly 30% of success rate in the last round of usability testing.

New Workspace

Insights to Design

Empower Individuality

Academic Profile now takes a holistic approach to recognizing student achievements, introducing Achievement Tags that honor the diverse experiences, skills, and passions of our students.

Before

New Nested Version

Before

New Nested Version

Insights to Design

Progressive Disclosure

The information architecture has been revamped to simplify the portal experience.

Related links are now grouped under clear themes, making it easier for students to find what they need and minimizing distractions.

Beyond Grades

Informative Neccessity

The Student Grades section has been revitalized with a modern design, adaptive progress tracking, and motivational notifications to inspire academic success.

Before

New Version

Before

New Version

New MyInfo

Insights to Design

Exciting Meal Card

Meal Card has a new life, elevated from a text-heavy, informational tool to a visually stunning experience. Now, it bursts with color and personality, perfectly aligned with our new design system.

New Resources

Insights to Design

Attractive Deals

The Students Deals section has been revamped with a clean and spacious card design, allowing students to quickly discover the best deals at a glance.

The new card design's spacious layout makes browsing and comparing a large number of deals easier and faster, without feeling overwhelmed.