New York University
Redesign
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The mission of the NYU Division of Student Affairs is twofold: To complement and support the University's academic mission as an international center of scholarship, teaching, and research; and to enhance the quality of life for students — both in and out of the classroom.
Role
Interface Design
Tools
Procreate
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe XD
Duration
35 hours
Team
Self-Directed
Current NYU Dean of Students page
The Problem
As a former student at New York University, I frequently browsed nyu.edu to find information about resources available to current students. Within the Student Affairs unit pages, I found the Dean of Students page to be unclear and bare bones, yet the resource itself is meant to uplift and empower students.
The Goal
Redesign the Dean of Students unit page from the Division of Student Affairs website, focusing on improving user experience (UX) and adhering to global inclusion, diversity, belonging, equity, and accessibility standards.
Step 1. Research
I conducted a brief competitive analysis to compare the Dean of Students page to other Student Affair units’ pages. After this research, I noted inconsistencies across the different unit pages, including page structure, accessibility standards, and general design.
I also compiled a few examples of the target audience for the Dean of Students page. What kind of students would be coming across this page and what kind of information are they looking for in the first place?
Step 2. Ideation
First, I did the "How might we” > “What if we” design exercise to get my design thinking flowing.
1. Improve the information hierarchy so the user understands the services and opportunities offered by the Dean of Students?
How Might We…
Solutions:
Use proper text formatting for each section of text
Figure 1. Wireframe option 1
How Might We…
2. Add visual elements to the page in a non-intrusive and helpful manner?
Solutions:
Show relevant images next to the CTAs to entice student’s eyes
Add visual icons to further convey the different ways a student can be engaged with the community
Figure 2. Wireframe option 2
How Might We…
3. Clearly convey the mission of the Dean of Students and the main call to action for students?
Solutions:
Add a banner and student quotations
Add request forms to the side of the page
Step 3. Mockups
I designed these mockups in Adobe XD, using Photoshop and Illustrator for more detailed elements. I did my best to adhere to NYU’s current grid structure and style guide while also branching out to show my creative designs. You can also view the PDF version.
Step 4. Second Round Mockup
Given the quick nature of this project, I found a few issues with the current mockup design that I wanted to improve upon in a second iteration.
Key Takeaways
The page’s new structure requires the user to scroll through the entire page without any sort of prior context of what type of information the page includes
The “Mission & Values” section is still text-heavy and not any more readable than the current live page
The “Meet the Dean” section does not give an overview of the Dean of Students unit enough to help users understand the unit’s overall purpose
The page has inconsistent spacing of information and does not keep common desktop dimensions for each section of information on the page
Results
As a result, I made small but significant changes to the mockup, focusing even more on accessibility elements, page hierarchy, and the overall user experience You can also view the PDF version.
The initial redesign project was an individual assignment done within 24 hours. The total time spent on the project was about 30 hours.