AcTinSite

Digital Experience Design and Development

Project Overview

AcTinSite is an initiative dedicated to enhancing accessibility for students with disabilities in practicum sites. We are currently developing an interactive resource designed to provide individuals with disabilities access to essential information and support, empowering them to thrive in their educational experiences.

My Contributions

Led a team of undergraduate designers and developers in pattern finding and analysis to extract insights from user data, enabling informed design decisions for the interactive resource.
Design and create prototypes to visualize and test concepts for the interactive resource.
Supervise the development and implementation process, ensuring alignment with user needs and project goals.

My Role

UI/UX Designer

Jun 2016 — Sep 2016

My Responsibilities

Research, UX Design, UI Design, Categories Redesign, Wireframing, Prototyping, Tree-Testing, Users Logging & Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation

Tools & Methods

Affinity Mapping

Background

The project focuses on developing an accessible interactive resource that provides essential information and support, empowering individuals with disabilities to thrive in their educational experiences. As the lead Product designer, I am responsible for guiding a team of undergraduate researchers, designers, and developers through the design and implementation process, ensuring that our solutions are both user-centered and accessible.

Our approach to this project was grounded in design thinking, with a strong emphasis on accessibility. Although the initial user research was completed before I joined, I leveraged these insights to inform our design decisions, ensuring that the resource was not only functional but also inclusive and accessible. The process involved multiple iterations to ensure that the final product met the diverse needs of our target users.

Process

This is a diagram showing the steps of the User Research Method by NN/g. In Discover, I did field studies, stakeholder interviews, hunting data sources, determining metrics. Then in Explore, I did Design Review, card sorting, walkthroughs, prototyping. In Test & Listen, I analyzed user loggings, conducted usability testings and tree testings.

NNgroup's UX Research cheet sheet iterates over phases of Discover, Explore, Test, and Listen.

Drawing from the earlier research, we explored various design concepts that would best support the needs of students with disabilities. Throughout this phase, I emphasized accessibility considerations, such as screen reader compatibility, color contrast, and keyboard navigation. This led to a set of initial design ideas that aligned with accessibility best practices.

Ideation

We began by creating low-fidelity wireframes to visualize our concepts. These wireframes served as a foundation for testing and validating accessibility features before investing in detailed designs. As we iterated, I ensured that the high-fidelity prototypes in Figma adhered to accessibility guidelines, focusing on aspects like text readability, focus states, and clear interaction patterns. This process was crucial for refining the user experience and ensuring that all students could interact with the resource seamlessly.

Prototyping (Lo-Fi to Hi-Fi)

During the development phase, I collaborated closely with our developers to bring the designs to life while maintaining strict adherence to accessibility standards. We conducted multiple rounds of usability testing with students, including those with various disabilities, to gather feedback on both usability and accessibility. Each iteration addressed feedback to ensure that the resource was intuitive, accessible, and met the needs of all users. This thorough testing process resulted in a final product that is both inclusive and empowering for students with disabilities.

Test & Listen

A screenshot showing the wireframes of homepage and a sample resource page in Figma

Wireframes created representing the mobile version of the AcTinSite resource website