The Hill

"The biggest change is that we’ve gone after a broader national audience. We’ve become less of a niche publication."

The process

In this project I worked closely with the SVP of Digital Strategy to gather quantitative information on how readers were accessing the website. By analysing this data I was able to observe patterns on the stories and sections that caused readership to peak, where users came from, and most importantly, what stories and sections of the site were performing below expectations. I also conducted observations on how the website was being navigated and read in desktop and mobile devices. Through my observations I noticed the diffuculty users were having in navigating the mobile site, information was laid out in a confusing manner and the order in which the content was displayed was very different than in the desktop version of the site which disturbed the overall user expereince. Through affinity mapping and journey mapping patterns and pain points became clear. I then started developing design concepts and testable prototypes to validate my assumptions that displaying content in a cleaner responsive manner would improve the user experience. Designs were iterated based on testing feedback and final designs were presented to senior executives and stakeholders. Once the designs were approved I worked with the development team to deliver assets and check that the built pages matched the approved designs.

Design thinking tools