On this project, I was fortunate to have gained more insights into how users think, act, and react when it comes to their digital portals.

​

Due to the two main groups of people involved (the parents, and the school staff), this project required great attention to balancing the needs of these two groups.  Most parents are extremely busy, and have no time to waste, so they want the most efficient and organized all-in-one access depot for information about the school.  The administration at the school desired to protect a lot of information, and were hesitant to share too much through the website.  Through many meetings, where we reviewed the user research, I helped them to understand the desires and needs of their users (the parents), and how the school's website could help meet those needs.  ​

​

This project, more than any previous ones, pushed me to find a balance between the user's needs and the company's needs.  A wonderful learning experience.

​

This project, too, was the first time I had dealt with a company that desperately wanted a digital presence, but at the same time the administrators were self-proclaimed technology- phobes.  Additionally, due to financial reasons, the school wanted to administer the site themselves.  I had to take all of this in mind as I designed the site.  I relied more on menu items and less on landing pages, so that the school administrators would be able to more easily modify navigation information - changing an item on a menu as opposed to having to alter parts of an entire landing page.  I also ensured that there were no fancy elements to increase the learning curve too severely.  I eliminated any slide shows, and kept overlays to a minimum, so that the school would not have to learn how to administer these elements.

​

In designing for the parents I tried to ensure the information architecture and the navigation were conducive to the needs of busy parents.  I group information together, and made navigation simple through the use of thorough menus (that were accessible through the header on all pages), and through the presence of back arrows on necessary pages only.  It was a delicate balance of keeping the UI design fun and child-like, while ensuring the UX design was organized and easy-to-navigate without being stodgy. ​

​

This project was not only a joy to design, but also an amazing well of new knowledge and new learning experiences.

​