UX / UI

UDIA

Urban Development Institute of Australia - NSW (UDIA NSW) - is the leading industry body representing the NSW property development sector. Their focus is on providing valuable information and organising events for both their members and the communities they impact. Recognising their need to enhance their online presence, UDIA NSW sought the expertise of EB Pearls to revitalise their digital platform

Agency
EB Pearls
Year
2019
Role
UX / UI & Digital Producer
PROBLEM STATEMENT

The outdated website of UDIA NSW presented difficulties for both staff members and users. Staff members faced challenges in managing the content, while users encountered navigation issues. Our objective was to develop a visually appealing and modern design, resulting in a website that offers improved navigation and efficient management

Project goals

With the understanding that the UDIA website presented the most challenges for UDIA stakeholders, the primary goal of the project was to enhance the user experience of the UDIA NSW website

Improve navigation
Simplify the website structure and make it easier for users to find relevant content
Enhance usability
Streamline user flows, reduce cognitive load, and optimise the website for various devices
Modernise design
Update the visual design to align with current design trends and enhance the overall appeal
Empower staff
Develop a user-friendly content management system to enable staff to easily update and manage website content
Research and discovery

To gain an understanding of the project requirements and user needs, I conducted a week of discovery research. This research phase aimed to gather valuable insights and lay the foundation for informed design decisions.

Research methods
Stakeholder interviews
Heuristic evaluation
Analytics review
UX workshops
User surveys
Competitor analysis
Information Architecture

Based on the research findings, I developed a design strategy that focused on improving the UX by addressing pain points and enhancing the overall usability of the website. The most emphatic discovery was the poor navigation. Some pages existed in the site with no intuitive way of a user actually being able to get there. I worked on restructuring the information architecture. This involved card sorting activities to organise content into intuitive categories which would define the navigation.

design and iteration

Following an iterative design process, page flows, wireframes and high fidelity designs were developed to outline the new site structure and visual theme. Layouts and design were presented to stakeholders, a brand designer and a team of developers to ensure the functionality and design were feasible and desirable.

Pain points Addressed
Improve usability and navigation
Simplified the website structure and streamlined user flows to make it easier for users to find relevant content
Provide a modern and aesthetically pleasing design
Updated the visual design to reflect UDIA's professionalism
Simplify the content management process
Introducing a CMS to ensure staff members can easily update and maintain the website content
Conclusion

This redesign project successfully transformed an outdated and challenging website into a user-friendly, visually appealing platform. The project achieved its goals of improving user experience, modernising the design and empowering staff. The new site now serves as an effective communication tool for UDIA NSW and contributes to increased member engagement and satisfaction.