Website Redesign • UX/UI Design
Summer Studios Arts Academy
UX/UI Designer
April 2021 - May 2021
Processes Involved:
User Research, Competitive Analysis, User Flows, Sketching, Wireframing/ Prototyping, Visual Design, Copywriting, SEO
Summer Studios Arts Academy is a local, small business that offers art classes to kids and adults of all ages. When I connected with David (owner), he expressed a need for an updated version to help attract new students and breathe life into the business.
The opportunity was to design a system centered around user and business needs, built on a template-based CMS for easier business management, all while still maintaining and highlighting a strong brand identity.
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Research
To establish a baseline for the product MVP, I led two rounds of stakeholder meetings - one with David, one with another teacher at the studio. I also conducted two rough sessions of observational research while at the facility, making note of student demographics.
I then reviewed the Summer Studios website, evaluating usability and heuristic standards, while comparing it with competitors’ websites in the space. Following my review, I tasked three potential users to browse the site and find specific information as requested, followed by a debriefing interview.
Data from my research, interviews, and task analyses were compiled to best define who the final product would be ideally designed for.
Define
Utilizing research data I created two personas, each representing target users that would be frequenting the new website. Each persona also represented an issue that research participants voiced while debriefing.
Persona A, Alicia, is a working mother who wants to easily find a local ceramics studio for her daughter to take classes at.
Persona B is Scott, a retiree looking for a local art studio to take painting lessons.
Ideate
When brainstorming the layout of the redesigned website, I began by sketching low-fidelity wireframes with pen and paper.
Referencing feedback from task analyses, I focussed on specific areas of frustration like the main navigation, page design, and information architecture. These designs were then transformed into digital prototypes.
Design
Even though I built the live site on a template-based CMS (Squarespace), I still built out medium-fidelity, wireframes in order to gain feedback via user testing.
Three users were tested on the designs, which featured enhanced page organization, consolidated main navigation, and overall revamp to the page layout.
Once finalized, the designs were translated as accurately as possible to the CMS and the template-based system required very little technical knowledge, which made managing the website much easier for David.
Check out the live site!
Reflection
Working with Summer Studios allowed me to utilize my skillset in order to tangibly help a local, small business affected by the hardships of 2020.
Project Management
As a solo designer on this redesign, I was responsible for maintaining clear and transparent communication, while ensuring business goals aligned with user’s needs. Part of this required establishing and adhering to timelines of deliverables, with the goal of efficiently completing the project (and saving the business some money in the process).
Design Thinking
Though this was a redesign on a template-based CMS, I took the opportunity to approach the work as though it were being handed off to a team of developers. Rather than just going on to Squarespace and picking a template to create a website, I supported my choices with thought-out research and design iterations validated by testing.
Client Prospecting and Outreach
Getting in touch with Summer Studios allowed me to utilize and refine my skillset from a former line of work, sales. Not only was I was able to practice my prospecting and outreach communication but also my pitch delivery and continued client communication through the project lifecycle.