The problem statement uncovered
The Problem:
Overwhelming amounts of information and a shoddy navigation process make it difficult for users to easily navigate the Department of Education website which houses the info of many other departments.
My Solution:
Creating a minimalist design with curated content that helps keep the interface clean by displaying only pivotal information and housing more robust information for common users.
So I set about reorganizing the site based on the results of thourough card sorting to look for useful patterns and insight.
How the work was iterated based on user testing
Ease of access to information of relevance to different main user groups, and clarity of navigation became key.
Four types of users who come to the ED.gov website.
Students or families looking for information on student loans.
Businesses, non-profits and individuals looking for information about grants.
School administrators or relevant stakeholders looking for information on laws impacting their school.
Users of all kinds interested in data relevant to education in the United States.
The design went through various iterations in an attempt to make the site a bit easier to digest by planning for more infographics, segmenting out information with clear headings, and making use of “White space” in addition to other design approaches.
The final prototype that solved the problem
The first two images below are the main page site before and After with the biggest difference being the change in clutter and initial overload allowing one more time to first process navigation.
The end result wound up being a need for curated content via an updated navigation bar for better clarity:
- An updated landing page with simplified navigation in two forms.
- Three new curated "homepages" for users to best provide both common and new/one-time users with the fastest access to all the information they would need.
The main pages listed in the navigation and starting with the landing page were all sorted, curated, and simplified for an easier viewing experience with less clutter on the page and a little color to feel more welcoming.
Below are rough overviews of the pages in their entirety as redesigned for web and mobile use with RWD for various sizes.
Below are close ups of the mobile equivalent pages with the alternate main menu pop-up display of said pages.
Final thoughts and notes for future iterations: Though there were more problems than I could fix I did what I could to work on base key information structuring and organization while minimizing overload, though it became a bit text-heavy as I did not have time to develop proper infographics.
- This is a much bigger job than an individual can take on all at once, i'd like to work in a team next time on this site.
- A better home landing page
- Curated content pages for Students and parents, Teachers, and administrators for easier fact finding and navigation.
- A new visual overlay
- A little less text heavy in favor of better of more white space and better visuals.
- Simpler navigation to pages with better organized content.
