Redesigning the Student Services Experience for Different Types of focus.
BRIEF : Redesign IADT’s student services website using the principles of universal design.
The task was to create three persona’s, we were asked to consider a wide range of user needs and to consider neurodiversity amongst the student population. My approach was to use the universal design principle - design for one extend to many.
Personas
Understanding ADHD
I chose to gather more research on ADHD and build upon the persona of Ben. Through interviews and secondary research I gathered really interesting feedback to feed into the ideation phase. Students with ADHD just have different ways of focusing that is often not aligned with the '“usual” way of learning, this isn’t a bad thing, in fact people with ADHD are more likely to be entrepreneurs with more creative approaches to tasks [Think Richard Branson , Bill Gates , Walt Disney]. I wanted to design for different approaches to focus and to make the student experience webpage more enjoyable to use.
Current User Journey
I performed a usability test on the current student services webpage with 2 separate participants. Below is an overview of comments made throughout.
Project Definition
It was important to define the project goals to ensure that the user was at the centre of the design process as it moved forward.
User Needs Statement
“When I am looking for information on student services, I want it to be fun, easy to find information and personalised to my needs so that I can save time and feel more involved in IADT life and the services it offers”.
Project Goals
Design a student service experience that is;
Enjoyable to use.
Feels personalized to the user.
Considers different types of focus.
Is clear, concise and offers reassurance.
Aligns with the principles of universal design.
Benchmarking
Research into existing products helped to align the ideation phase with the project goals. I looked at apps that had elements of fun and personalisation.
.Microsofts inclusive design principles highlighted the importance of considering different types of focus. I looked at physical products such as fidget toys and how this engaging activity can better help people to focus on tasks.
Research into existing products helped to align the ideation phase with the project goals. I looked at apps that had elements of fun and personalisation.
Prototypes and Testing
I created paper prototypes and tested basic user flows. I wanted to discover what types of interactions were more engaging.
I was inspired by apps like Tik Tok and dating apps that keep user engagement through various types of scrolls.
This small-scale testing showed that there was no clear favourite in terms of the presentation of services. This was an opportunity to link back to universal design and add a button that allowed the user to switch views or simply search for topics.
Student Services Hub
The IADT student services hub is a community for students to access personalised support and information.
The project highlighted the importance of creating fun and interactive experiences that students will want to use, whilst also providing clear actionable information.
The onboarding experience aims to create an element of fun and personalisation and allows for better recommendations.
Information architecture was analysed and the webpage has been broken down into various sections with considerably less blocks of text and more imagery.
Universal Design Consideration
