Health Sciences Library

Redesigning the Health Sciences Library Website to Improve User Navigation and Flow

Overview
Overview

Role

Role

Duration

Duration

UX Designer

The University of Washington Health Sciences Library website it used my a plethora of user groups, including medical and dental school students, healthcare professionals, and medical school faculty and staff. The website has not been redesigned in over two decades, resulting in a very chaotic homepage and navigation.

The website experiences a high user exit rate with visitor feeling disoriented and overwhelmed when using the website. Users have difficulty finding the resources they need and are unaware that many tools and resources on the website exist.

Decrease bounce rates and improve user satisfaction by simplifying the homepage and navigation so users can find resources more easily.

Before (web version)

After (web version)

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

Miro, Figma

Context

Role

Duration

The healthcare industry faces numerous challenges, including long waiting times for consultations, high costs of appointments and treatments, and a lack of personalized medical attention. LifePattern AI is a healthcare technology platform that leverages artificial intelligence to provide personalized and data-driven healthcare solutions.

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

Solution

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

The University of Washington Health Sciences Library website it used my a plethora of user groups, including medical and dental school students, healthcare professionals, and medical school faculty and staff. The website has not been redesigned in over two decades, resulting in a very chaotic homepage and navigation.

The website experiences a high user exit rate with visitor feeling disoriented and overwhelmed when using the website. Users have difficulty finding the resources they need and are unaware that many tools and resources on the website exist.

The website experiences a high user exit rate with visitor feeling disoriented and overwhelmed when using the website. Users have difficulty finding the resources they need and are unaware that many tools and resources on the website exist.

Decrease bounce rates and improve user satisfaction by simplifying the homepage and navigation so users can find resources more easily.

UX Designer

18 months

Figma

Tools

Tools

Context

Problem

Solution

Decrease bounce rates and improve user satisfaction by simplifying the homepage and navigation so users can find resources more easily.

Dec. 2023 — June 2024

Tools

Figma

Problem

The website experiences a high user exit rate with visitor feeling disoriented and overwhelmed when using the website. Users have difficulty finding the resources they need and are unaware that many tools and resources on the website exist.

The University of Washington Health Sciences Library website it used my a plethora of user groups, including medical and dental school students, healthcare professionals, and medical school faculty and staff. The website has not been redesigned in over two decades, resulting in a very chaotic homepage and navigation.

Overview

After (Web Version)

Before (Web Version)

Interviewing students and librarians

Interviewing students and librarians

01

02

03

Homepage is very overwhelming and cluttered — more portals and a more simple design would be helpful


Students do not know what a lot of the links and resources displayed are — not enough information provided


Would like easier navigation to research guides and research resources

Research links and resources are scattered throughout the website

For this redesign, I conducted 10+ semi-structured interviews with students using the Health Sciences Library to learn about what they used the website for and their pain points when using the website.

For this redesign, I conducted 20+ semi-structured interviews with students using the Health Sciences

Library to learn about what they used the website for and their pain points when using the website.

For this redesign, I conducted 10+ semi-structured interviews with students using the Health Sciences Library to learn about what they used the website for and their pain points when using the website.

I also conducted 7+ semi-structured interviews with librarians and faculty of the Health Sciences Library to learn about their pain points and desires.


01

Librarians enjoy the quick links to resources displayed on the homepage

Desire a more noticeable search feature with simple access to digital books, site browsing, and scholarly articles

02

03

I also conducted 7+ semi-structured interviews with librarians of the Health Sciences Library to learn about their pain points and desires.


After conducting the interviews with librarians and students, I created an affinity map so I could more clearly group common themes, pain points, and desires that users had.

Homepage is very overwhelming and cluttered — more portals and a more simple design would be helpful


Conducting Research
Conducting Research

Homepage is very overwhelming and cluttered — more portals and a more simple design

would be helpful


Desire a more noticeable search feature with simple access to digital books, site browsing, and scholarly articles

After conducting the interviews with librarians and students, I created an affinity map so I could more clearly group common themes, pain points, and desires that users had.

Students do not know what a lot of the links and resources displayed are — not enough information provided


Research links and resources are scattered throughout the website

I also conducted 7+ semi-structured interviews with librarians of the Health Sciences Library to learn about their pain points and desires.


Librarians enjoy the quick links to resources displayed on the homepage

Would like easier navigation to research guides and research resources

Desire a more noticeable search feature with simple access to digital books, site browsing, and scholarly articles

After conducting the interviews with librarians and students, I created an affinity map so I could more clearly group common themes, pain points, and desires that users had.

Research

Conducting a UX/UI Website Audit

Conducting a UX/UI Website Audit

After gaining insight into users' pain points and desires, I initiated a comprehensive UX/UI analysis of the website to explore its navigation layout, ease of use, and aesthetic appeal. Using the data I collected from my user research and the website evaluation, I created an Eisenhower matrix of features to be included in the redesign.

Prioritizing Features
Prioritizing Features

Conducting research allowed me to get a general idea of what Health Science Library users wanted to see on the website and I began to look at other Universities’ Health Science Libraries to get an idea of how they organized their resources. This gave me a general idea of layout designs and allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses in different layouts.

Conducting research allowed me to get a general idea of what Health Science Library users wanted to see on the website and I began to look at other Universities’ Health Science Libraries to get an idea of how they organized their resources. This gave me a general idea of layout designs and allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses in different layouts.

Ideate

Looking At Similar Websites

Looking At Similar Websites

Conducting research allowed me to get a general idea of what Health Science Library users wanted to see on the website and I began to look at other Universities’ Health Science Libraries to get an idea of how they organized their resources. This gave me a general idea of layout designs and allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses in different layouts.

Exploring Solutions
Exploring Solutions

Conducting research allowed me to get a general idea of what Health Science Library users wanted to see on the website and I began to look at other Universities’ Health Science Libraries to get an idea of how they organized their resources. This gave me a general idea of layout designs and allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses in different layouts.

Conducting research allowed me to get a general idea of what Health Science Library users wanted to see on the website and I began to look at other Universities’ Health Science Libraries to get an idea of how they organized their resources. This gave me a general idea of layout designs and allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses in different layouts.

Ideate

Mapping Out A Redesign

Mapping Out A Redesign

After looking at other library websites, I began to get a general idea of what pages and subpages I wanted the website

to have. I created an information architecture map to help me determine what resources and features would go

where on the website.


After looking at other library websites, I began to get a general idea of what pages and subpages I wanted the website to have. I created an information architecture map to help me determine what resources and features would go where on the website.


After looking at other library websites, I began to get a general idea of what pages and subpages I wanted the website to have. I created an information architecture map to help me determine what resources and features would go

where on the website.

Building Wireframes

Building Wireframes

Creating the information architecture map allowed me to get a clear idea of the new navigation and subpages and I

began to sketch out low-fidelity designs. These designs are two of the many basic layouts I created of what the

homepage and research subpage would look like.



Creating the information architecture map allowed me to get a clear idea of the new navigation and subpages and I began to sketch out low-fidelity designs. These designs are two of the many basic layouts I created of what the homepage and research subpage would look like.



Crafting Experiences
Crafting Experiences

Prototype

Creating the information architecture map allowed me to get a clear idea of the new navigation and subpages and I began to sketch out low-fidelity designs. These designs are two of the many basic layouts I created of what the homepage and research subpage would look like.



Testing Wireframes

Testing Wireframes

01

02

03

Differences between Services and Tools subpages aren’t clear

Toolkit page is very overwhelming — very few of the many links are used and they’re difficult to find among all the links


eBooks and Databases are difficult to find/navigate to

eBooks and Databases are difficult to find

04

Popular resources bar is hard to read through quickly and makes the homepage look cluttered


When conducting usability testing on my wireframes with students and librarians, I conducted moderated qualitative

testing. This allowed me to observe students and librarians’ actions and reactions when navigating the website and

completing common tasks.

When conducting usability testing on my wireframes with students and librarians, I conducted moderated qualitative testing. This allowed me to observe students and librarians’ actions and reactions when navigating the website and completing common tasks.

Testing & Refining
Testing & Refining

User Testing

When conducting usability testing on my wireframes with students and librarians, I conducted moderated qualitative testing. This allowed me to observe students and librarians’ actions and reactions when navigating the website and completing common tasks.

Differences between Services and Tools subpages aren’t clear

Toolkit page is very overwhelming — very few of the many links are used and they’re difficult to find among all the links


eBooks and Databases are difficult to find/navigate to

Popular resources bar is hard to read through quickly and makes the homepage look cluttered


Delivering Impact
Delivering Impact

Central Search Bar

Central Search Bar

Central Search Bar

Central Search Bar

Popular Databases

Popular Databases

Locked Icons

Quick Links

Specific Areas of Interest

Moving the search bar from the navigation bar to the center of the homepage draws users to one of the most prominent features of the website.

Mirroring the homepage and creating a central search bar for the Databases page allows users to search for specific tools easily.

Designating the right side of the page to popular databases allows users to find most used databases faster. It also allows new users a starting point to learn more about popular resources.

Adding locked icons next to databases allows users to easily view which databases require access and which are publicly available.


Dedicating a "quick links" section on the homepage allows users to find popular links faster. It also allows new users to discover popular resources and services.

Creating three distinct subpages users can navigate to (research, resources, and services) allows users to get a broad overview of the different information the Health Sciences Library offers.

Actionable Milestones

Reflection

Biggest Challenge

The biggest obstacle I faced when tackling this project was effectively designing the homepage to cater to both students and librarians who use the website. Students and librarians are the two main user groups of the website and both user groups were interested in seeing vastly different designs on the homepage.

Takeaway

One important takeaway I learned from this project is that it’s important to get feedback early and often from diverse stakeholders. Without the many, many feedback I received from students, librarians, and faculty along the way, this redesign would not have been anywhere near as successful or polished as it turned out.

Next Steps

The next step in this project is to incorporate the usability testing feedback into my current designs. Looking at the analytics of the redesigned homepage and subpages would also be future steps as I plan on furthering iterating on pages with low retention rates and high bounce rates.

Let's Connect

Doankn2602@gmail.com

Let's Connect

Doankn2602@gmail.com

Let's Connect

Doankn2602@gmail.com

Health Sciences Library
Health Sciences Library

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

Miro, Figma

The healthcare industry faces numerous challenges, including long waiting times for consultations, high costs of appointments and treatments, and a lack of personalized medical attention. LifePattern AI is a healthcare technology platform that leverages artificial intelligence to provide personalized and data-driven healthcare solutions.

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

Figma

Redesigning the Health Sciences Library Website to Improve User Navigation and Flow

Health Sciences Library

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

LifePattern AI's main goal is to improve patient outcomes and experiences by creating personalized healthcare journeys using artificial intelligence. Users have reported that the process of building a healthcare journey is complicated and time-consuming, resulting in low conversion rates.

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

Miro, Figma

The healthcare industry faces numerous challenges, including long waiting times for consultations, high costs of appointments and treatments, and a lack of personalized medical attention. LifePattern AI is a healthcare technology platform that leverages artificial intelligence to provide personalized and data-driven healthcare solutions.

Increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by simplifying the process with a more intuitive design, offering step-by-step guidance and reducing the number of steps required.

Figma

Redesigning the Health Sciences Library Website to Improve User Navigation and Flow

Let's Connect

Doankn2602@gmail.com

The website experiences a high user exit rate with visitor feeling disoriented and overwhelmed when using the website. Users have difficulty finding the resources they need and are unaware that many tools and resources on the website exist.