http://csmithdesign.net/work-avenue daily 1.0 2025-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146167104-4DOM96MX1D1AW2USO9J5/IMG_0089.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1581712724440-QQO820153O8UW5PVLXZ3/projectSummary.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/02495040-153c-4fd9-a2d9-1393a8de7541/NAV9.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/2e40f39c-f64e-421a-8bd7-eaae9adbaaab/1_branding_message_relevancy_thumbnail.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/53a2bc76-aca1-4840-bdcd-b80077d23eb5/3-DS-thumbnail.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1581712277547-U2YWP6CHZC6KAUY2ME7F/_peopleProcessesSystems.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/aeb798f9-1f01-4357-a4d7-77c57de0f787/result.jpg Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/946bbe2a-1f34-4d91-8175-3c7e87c51918/2-team-wireframe-thumbnail.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1581712456728-PM2HHYHCPJSQ0MU0MGX7/Image_1%2B2019-12-19_09-54-28.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/4bd812fa-0d38-48ef-a716-a8eeeef2cf05/CS2-InsightSynthesis.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/cb879e72-98ab-4175-a9ac-2a74f89d6921/SUBQ9-phase2userFlowWithWireframeSketching.png Work - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1479915616288-F6Z215WMINU8N9MHAWX1/storyboardHeader.gif Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1479916064969-1NLXA5V60HXLC35EH5X8/mizeHeaderImage.gif Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1479916387324-E1LGTI4TIMAWDMD1IJTZ/grubHubHeader.gif Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1479858913123-0PTDQKQ73I0MKOHRECXF/1_landingPage.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1556897645599-Z6P0U5JWTCXCXLGOIOAP/easterSunday.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1581711732466-88GCSFM7PD6J2TWA7ZQG/conweb_flow_rev3.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1581711732466-88GCSFM7PD6J2TWA7ZQG/conweb_flow_rev3.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1434591017853-THW8YDSDKFZUG1IRY5BH/1_logoRework.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1434629433540-VO8Z7DAHZ3K3WYIF9C53/quarterhouseLogoColor.jpg Work http://csmithdesign.net/portfolio-wexley daily 0.75 2015-06-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1434549514612-5PYAHCJN2XOOM3V43009/originalAnt.png portfolio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1434549514612-5PYAHCJN2XOOM3V43009/originalAnt.png portfolio http://csmithdesign.net/institutional-consultant-website daily 0.75 2020-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582232209799-TIEXBSYX6HBQP281FMTY/image-asset.png Institutional Consultant Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582578856520-F61HSTM9C52O9Z1FGXQ6/Screen+Shot+2020-02-20+at+4.33.53+PM.png Institutional Consultant Website We started to chart out user scenarios in order to understand how users would need to work through the experience, and how the system would need to respond to each of the users’ actions. This helped us understand what questions we would need to ask our stakeholders and development team. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582235270859-JCQHIA4BEZD2S730M5EI/image-asset.png Institutional Consultant Website As we developed personas, a list of tasks emerged that our designs needed to cover. Each key task needed a journey that was clear and evident to our users, so we set out to write a story that would string all tasks together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582578830961-YOQI2GY5I0H8Y158EQW5/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-02-20%2Bat%2B4.34.31%2BPM.jpg Institutional Consultant Website Our first order-of-business was to create a site map, which would help us determine what navigation states we needed to create, and would give us an impression of what content would become redundant between the old site and the new site. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582232696863-YBOPTF2ZOYPF4IKN5YNW/dashboard.png Institutional Consultant Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582319689699-AX6XNAUQNXWRLCKTZLQT/_peopleProcessesSystems.JPG Institutional Consultant Website When our project first started, there were a lot of disparate pieces of information that were coming to us. As associates were assigned to the project, the scope of the requirements and the systems that any updates would touch became difficult to understand, and too complex for any one person to know the way. We felt that a people, process, systems workshop would help our stakeholders understand who they may need to speak with next, and uncover some of the hidden considerations that might be hiding in the gaps. The workshop was a success, the associates could now see most of the requirements’ scope in one place.. Action steps were initiated and the project started to take a reasonable shape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582235263850-54L26801N389SMY4FJ6J/image-asset.png Institutional Consultant Website After developing an understanding around what technical limitations we would encounter, we decided that it would be healthy to build user personas, one for our investors and one for our consultants, so that we would know what features to build to best accommodate their needs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582235341977-RQ61GIB8ARJQ3ZOP1OUB/Screen+Shot+2020-02-20+at+4.30.17+PM.png Institutional Consultant Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582319776439-ZAYZZLYJN76EZVBFZ8VX/conweb_flow_rev3.jpg Institutional Consultant Website We knew that we needed to merge another demographic of professionals into the current site that we were migrating to, but we didn’t know how to get users to agree to legal conditions, pick the correct role for themselves, understand the value proposition of signing in, then sign in without getting confused or dead-ended. Early drawings helped us to understand how the sites needed to merge for the best on-ramp experience possible. http://csmithdesign.net/search-feature daily 0.75 2020-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582229854904-KFSI8C8MBHYL5HRYFY2E/search+-+No+Results+Found+-+Logged+In+-+Not+Following.png Search Feature In the event that no results are returned from a user’s query, we’ve left the user with many relevant opportunities for further exploration based upon their search history, collected cookies, and saved products. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582230247513-154KM3YTC00CJNADUJGW/search+-+logic+-+flowchart.png Search Feature https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582231620126-T08MA1FXA2RZ6LA543HR/image-asset.jpeg Search Feature This overview matrix was built by my teammates as they performed a competitor analysis around the in-page search functions of our closest industry competitors. Their criteria ranked for a great search feature were the following descriptors: useful, findable, clear, controllable, accessible, communicative, credible, and preemptive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582231686830-U78YD7Z71884OZX52W38/search%252B-%252Binterviews.jpg Search Feature Interviewing our teammates from around each business segment gave us the insight we needed about the pain points users were encountering while using each search function. There wasn’t a single system that didn’t have deep flaws, but they also had different strengths. Over the next few months we would seek to build a feature that incorporated those strengths while omitting pain points. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582228586375-8PA2LGFO0N0HGQ8CCC2D/search-current-state.png Search Feature https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582320026738-WD3ZJ0TGZOW5K9DGVTUQ/Image_1+2019-12-19_09-53-52.jpeg Search Feature https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582229649648-QAD2EPHK8YMCB4OAX5TK/search+-+4_Results_Tabs_Products_Filtered_Tapped.png Search Feature The design for the search results page featured a tabbed division of content subdivided by product filters. Each fund returned by the search gives users the option to download popular product documentation, while listing information important to our audience (fund managers, investment vehicle and class, ISIN and Bloomberg number). The onward journey links are also included in the results to reduce the changes of the user encountering a content dead-end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582231703456-1B9RY184CVVPJJVA8Y7U/search%252B-%252Bmetrics%252Bresearch.jpg Search Feature Before our interviews with our colleagues representing their audiences, we presented our data analyst with questions about each of the four business segments’ search features. His findings helped us to understand the context in which audiences were searching on our sights, dispelling any biased assumptions we initially had. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582231648486-0BNYYZS88CLJVB3R81TC/image-asset.jpeg Search Feature Here’s another page from their competitor analysis. Many pages like this appeared within their research deck, pointing to examples of good experience design around the different interaction points of our competitor’s in-page search functions. This research drove the questions that we would direct towards our colleagues, to verify how their audiences felt about each of these areas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582228999476-BHRCORSE95J26HLF690P/image-asset.png Search Feature After our initial research and learnings, we started sketching ideas, defining and refining as we went along. Many of these ideas died along the way as they came under critique, but quantity mattered more than quality in this phase. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582229227902-HVIMMY5MZBVSW9XJ9862/search+-+sketch+-+3.png Search Feature This is one of the final sketches created as we moved into digital design. It’s an image of the search results page, and you can see that we were trying to intelligently divide content while providing an ongoing journey for user’s who didn’t find what they needed (Most Popular Results). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582229420380-VYYHKSXAV2MZO6K028SN/search+-+Input+Interaction+Autosuggest.png Search Feature The user’s initial interactions with the search field are very important because many users will only use this search function to navigate the site. From the moment the user interacts with the search field, our systems work to intelligently predict relevant content, leveraging the user’s past searches and followed products. Suggested searches are constantly elevated in hopes to trim the time users need to spend typing their query. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582229023593-KRA0KVEGZHI8AS208X8A/search+-+sketching+2.png Search Feature As the sketches were discussed, they started to become further refined with graphical elements and components. The sketches were cut into individual components so that we could rearrange the order of elements as we learned. http://csmithdesign.net/people-and-culture-content-hub daily 0.75 2020-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582582630931-KAKLHC9RFWS8B67PI8BF/image-asset.jpeg People and Culture Content Hub As users navigated through the site, we learned that the most engaging content was the “Faces” section. This section featured human stories about real employees from all walks of life, and their experiences working for our firm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582582521470-OVK9PWALSTAT0TD7AWPO/Screen%25252BShot%25252B2020-02-21%25252Bat%25252B3.22.15%25252BPM.jpg People and Culture Content Hub Using the feedback that we heard during our observations, we learned that the information hierarchy of the site didn’t properly describe the content, and should be updated. We recommended that a card sort take place to resolve the issue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582582618860-B4Z9IOQFOKHPQ1J4YW8A/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-02-21%2Bat%2B3.23.07%2BPM.jpg People and Culture Content Hub We also observed users trying to interact with elements that weren’t clickable. We suggested that these areas of the site remove their graphic elements if they weren’t absolutely needed. Instead, links to next steps were needed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318735182-OXSXI2OR2A85IZZOWLAM/image-asset.jpeg People and Culture Content Hub We also found important areas that underperformed in fundamental ways, where next steps were not apparent nor obvious. We recommended clear affordances that would quickly signal actions for the user’s next steps. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582317912819-B9VSW7RLVP0KXQCOYBRI/image-asset.png People and Culture Content Hub Unfortunately, our designs did not get built due to budgeting constraints, but the site plans to use them in the future. On the bright side, however, many of the content considerations were taken to heart. Content we deemed as most important was prioritized in the hierarchy, highlighted by order and placement, while content that we deemed unnecessary or confusing was revised, reduced in visibility, or omitted entirely. We felt as though we had done the site its proper service, and know that candidates are now finding their way through the content more meaningfully. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582582599919-S3SON9JQQ0FQ7FLVS0R7/Screen%252BShot%252B2020-02-21%252Bat%252B3.22.48%252BPM.jpg People and Culture Content Hub We also found opportunities to direct the onward journey of the user towards our business goals. Important areas of the site needed links to prevent users from reaching a content dead-end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318685507-S6149O4ZIR6JOB44G3PH/Screen+Shot+2020-02-21+at+3.57.31+PM.png People and Culture Content Hub So while our research and initial thoughts were informed by market research, we decided that we wanted to watch real job applicants navigation paths while working through our current website. We used usertesting.com, and screened users to match the demographic that we were targeting for. In total, we initiated usability testing on 40 potential applicants, taking notes on any comments that might lead to a favorable content change. We also got to see how users navigated online, and watched how they behaved on sites other than ours to find work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582317897010-WA882PLEIGYATHS29GB7/image-asset.png People and Culture Content Hub Design recommendations were made based on our findings. These included a homepage, article page, and article listing pages for future build. Our designs were informed by our user research and business stakeholder needs. Content most important to users during their journey was elevated, while other content was condensed or eliminated if not helpful. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582582650007-E8RU0LQKQQ1IOOMLGDM7/image-asset.jpeg People and Culture Content Hub Other needs were uncovered during our observations and questionnaires with users. We learned so much, even in the small details, about what they were most interested in when searching for an employer. http://csmithdesign.net/pxp-sales-story daily 0.75 2020-02-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582148647345-0L9G367A1ID2Z7XW03H9/pxp_brochure_drawing.png PXP Sales Story The sales team also focused on business-to-business collateral, and asked us what a leave-behind brochure could look like. This brochure was built in a slightly different form, but ultimately became the focus of the project. After we had developed the product’s initial story, visual language, and concepts, this leave behind would be iterated upon many times before it was finalized. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146671275-LIL5ORW8FO8BPKFFK5OC/IMG_0089.jpg PXP Sales Story Storyboards were created to walk audiences through the benefits of a retirement confidence-building system. The concept was complex, so we sought to distill our thoughts into their most basic component, hoping that our visuals would communicate clearly but never distract. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146649728-FMMCK6MBF1HH2DYU6RB9/IMG_0090.jpg PXP Sales Story In early drawings, we needed to communicate that participants were being chosen by the system from a demographic, but became a realized individual as their personal details were used to create a profile. This profile would continually list healthy retirement actions that were right for their life circumstances. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318095593-IXPJDHGBFH1C6E555TVD/IMG_0091_Storyboard1.jpg PXP Sales Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146814568-GT78GZ0OTQW8QSOPAMNA/microsite1.jpg PXP Sales Story How would we visualize this engine that was consuming details of plan participants, mixing key variables to create custom “confidence builders”(the illustrated jewels) to help participants reach their goals faster? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318184744-Y2AM60HAKFYQGSTHO5GO/screen2%402x.png PXP Sales Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146907172-WZV5QJGPKU48OR9Z3QOF/microsite2.jpg PXP Sales Story We also were tasked with creating a microsite to walk customers through the high-level details about the product. Seen here is a plan for a website that would expose a new section (1, 2, or 3) of details each time users scrolled. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318176249-WUQWNDCZ6JFVWXDUNY56/image-asset.png PXP Sales Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582146413990-9FE2JK5PC5QNIFMQZL8Z/screen3%402x.png PXP Sales Story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1582318356770-SGUY77JL5IIZKAMKEYXU/IMG_5171.JPG PXP Sales Story http://csmithdesign.net/design-thinking-branding daily 0.75 2021-11-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/f107a9c1-4949-41ac-803d-f611adde8868/0_Brand-Pillar-Workshop-0+%282%29.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/ad748cef-e30d-47ad-9cd6-bfa2a68a4a68/4-Stylescapes.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Stylescapes are collections of images, art, fonts, icons, and graphics used together to evoke visual themes to guide the art direction of a brand’s deliverables going forward. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/08c14511-1aaa-4179-ae02-1ce55bd9d0e1/5-sample-execution.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/f5dd89ee-d84d-4a12-8404-462782d08310/brandingWithDesignThinking.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Pictured here is the Design Thinking Process that we designed and practiced to uncover the the direction of the brand and its principles. *Graphic courtesy of The Interaction Design Foundation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/55d54014-6bbf-42f8-a61d-b2c835acc41a/7-brand-demo.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/382f5cbf-0d25-42c5-8853-a6e75b5f2b26/5-Visual-theme-2.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/daf79d16-5ef7-4727-8e50-50aeeea1d902/7-style-guide.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/68f81323-586a-4e34-802b-efca35c9329f/2_Workshop-Relevancy-Workshop.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Audience concerns mapped to the brand story, color-coded by persona. We could now become hyper-focused on the brand story beats that spoke to the most audience concerns. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/51359296-179e-419d-a37b-da19edb057a5/branding_audiences.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/bd5f1cfb-4b15-4fdc-8814-df6f5b2b1fe2/1_Workshop-Persona-Synthesis+%281%29+%281%29.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out Brand descriptor themes mapped to audience personas. These descriptor themes would provide a foundation for the brand attributes and pillars. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/2156538d-cc54-4e11-9f53-f5519c3c89b3/3-Brand-Position.png Design Thinking Branding Strategy - Make it stand out The brand story, attributes, position and pillars. http://csmithdesign.net/design-thinking-branding-1 daily 0.75 2021-11-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/bd827bb5-d5fe-4eae-a3c5-4df2eae654e8/3-Phase-Integrations.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/8fa31330-96de-4570-af7b-cafa452a484a/1_team-strategy-planning.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/6ead1424-b6be-43c7-a517-275afe805e39/7-Team-sketching.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/4f34c895-1205-444c-9fc3-49c11f28bbc8/5-Phase-2-integration-workshop.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/db046b62-4d72-4ad7-b576-eb6c31fd762f/5-Phase-5-integration-workshop.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/816e0d76-21d3-4f05-89f8-8f0f14e6b409/8-team-wireframe-phase4.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/3ea81a28-9568-44bd-a21d-469c92b1cf3b/4-Phase-1-integration-workshop.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/f4374cd3-4dd4-49a9-b612-111198895095/2-Current-state-map-JCC2processAndFunctionalityMap.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/f30795f5-8225-464d-8752-de532698866c/8-team-wireframe-%281%29.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/b20c52b6-af75-442e-8435-03893ce03a05/9-design-phase4.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/d76f80d3-6e5f-4fb3-8506-f3d65301bfd5/map-cleaned-v2.png Innovating through Integration - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://csmithdesign.net/building-a-flexible-design-system daily 0.75 2021-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/29197639-dde6-47c5-883f-7e1b84c350b2/advanced-dropdown.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/5aabc92c-1bb6-48ea-b428-0ce22dacf901/1-empathy-interviews-1.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/fe8783fc-9112-4f9e-9145-829f7f9e8457/1---research-and-component-audit.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/4a76d957-73d0-4571-9029-92771c92b2c7/design-system-buttons.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/fcd83f84-5a11-4df8-aa9c-b069765699bc/3---design-system-components.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/18164ffc-b5b1-4d32-a095-b245d830d55b/dropdown_research.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/7963dc46-cf72-4f49-b82a-7da34082473d/Screen-Shot-2021-11-12-at-4.54.40-PM.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/4a7e6e8b-b4bf-41cf-8f16-1544f348c2cf/0---strategy-timeline.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/39c51c72-87da-4dda-8923-b3a87f5807da/design-system-tabs.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/766ebf3f-ca44-477a-87d9-5587e1dbc5ff/0---strategy-full-scope.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/ff7efa54-23bb-4ab5-91af-6adafd224188/Add+Personnel+to+Course+Copy.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/d0816711-f06d-49c4-97ea-96a151e76e2d/0---strategy-ceremonies.png Pivoting to Build a Successful Design System - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. http://csmithdesign.net/design-thinking-content-strategy daily 0.75 2025-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/46ef3fda-a06a-406c-8dfb-0d0d3f2ab0e5/KEY3_2.1-globalview.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Each column represents team members with similar capacities. We asked them to answer open-ended but targeted questions about the product to uncover what they would leave behind, fix, improve, or carry forward to the next iteration of the site. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/417c57b7-2296-4441-bfb0-d367aa61a176/KEY3_2.0-sharedUnderstanding.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Our mission was to find what was really holding the product back, and thread the needle between the visions and goals of every player in the organization. Here’s a closer look at the open-ended, operational questions we asked workshop participants. The thoughts and agendas of each department, stakeholder, and leader slowly emerged. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/1df6b286-bd33-432b-9543-54469de675f1/KEY3_4-departmentalPrioritization.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out A look at the broader, inter-department prioritization of areas for improvement. This included the entire group of departments and stakeholders, and gave us a good general idea for what actions to prioritize, but we still felt that things had only been defined at a high-level. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/6987fd30-0cb9-4cbe-a7ac-c99303cdad11/KEY3_3-uncoveringAreasOfOpportunity.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/aeb798f9-1f01-4357-a4d7-77c57de0f787/result.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/e06b1995-a2c7-463c-a3fc-d58a4bc33706/KEY3_10-initialProjectMilestones.png A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/279245ed-2f83-40ed-aeec-b42898664586/KEY3_7-RelevancyAndFurtherPrioritization.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Lorem ipsum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/54bfb973-f9b3-4c5f-bb79-e22647667a5b/KEY3_5-coreTeamActionPrioritization.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out The core production team had its own private session to get into the granular elements of each area of improvement, mapping what actions should be prioritized from a “boots on the ground”, tactical perspective.. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/ba6ec5c5-f9ea-4334-8633-761027bc4fe2/result.png A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out A look at some of our final deliverables. The fundamental basis of thought had been cemented, creating a cornerstone reference point for efficient launches in the future. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/2e8fca8d-b34f-4561-80e2-ac6b36a88a4e/KEY3_8-derivingUserStoriesByDefiningValue.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Each Epic was composed using the action items prioritized in in the feasibility vs. impact matrix exercise. We did a quick exercise to refresh everyone’s minds as to the real-world value of these efforts, to make sure our actions were geared for results, not personal preference. Defining the value in this way sparked discussion and debate. Some actions were left behind as a result, and some were elevated. Now we had a clear picture of the value our redesign effort would create. All that was left was to develop the project scope using what we had learned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/3b8bf378-f0ee-48a1-a929-b8f352707295/KEY3_9-projectScopeBacklogCreation.jpg A Strategic Site Redesign - Make it stand out Two views of our project scope labeled by corresponding epics and assigned to the capacities responsible for the work. http://csmithdesign.net/design-thinking-content-strategy-1 daily 0.75 2025-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/fcb1fa2a-d6e9-4673-8a78-c98b04240a90/CS6-bullseyeTaskPrioritization.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out This Bulleye Prioritization Exercise allowed the team to decide what solutions from the ideation session had the highest likelihood of creating successful outputs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/5ab06e1d-f78c-44da-b94f-5a3381da935f/CS3-InformedProblemStatement.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out Reframing the user’s problem context from a research-informed perspective takes the team’s general direction and hones it into a precise path for ideating towards a successful solution. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/965e748d-1827-4cc5-a075-07eefc2d46bf/CS12-finalDesign.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out The new designed featured streamlined elements for accelerated use and handled errors intelligently with relevant content suggestions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/712fcd00-5513-4ff9-b935-a3e63aa14891/CS7-feasibilityMatrix.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out The team’s developers helped us chart how difficult each solution would be, while we worked to determine their level-of-impact. Once each action item was plotted, we knew which solutions should be executed and which should be tabled. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/afa404c4-4119-483c-91a7-726c039c194f/CS2-InsightSynthesis.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/bfeb06b4-c078-44f7-8fe7-ae9f0e9b71c1/CS5-HowMightWeIteration.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out This How Might We Exercise allowed the team to take their new perspective, formed by a reframed problem statement, and brainstorm ideas for how to solve the users’ biggest issues with the feature’s functionality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/51d8a090-6b70-4770-ba85-daea3bad5ac9/CS10-BonusLearnings.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out Interestingly enough, important learnings were discovered for the rest of the product. Improvements included everything from brand messaging to issues with the website’s labeling and functionality. We socialized these insights to the rest of the group, allowing other teams to further improve upon the client’s other digital properties. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/d3c8e627-b606-46b1-86dc-b31695a9f24b/CS8-userTestingNewDesign.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out Pictured here is our team’s working synthesis board, where we painstakingly recorded significant findings from each user testing session. We then organized our learnings into usable insights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/0345b7b2-2091-495c-aa74-d675160c9030/CS4-BestAndWorstReset.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out The Best and Worst Exercise is a great way to get your team to slow down and focus on the the broader product context. This helps to create a general direction for improvement after forming a shared understanding during the team research synthesis. It also prevents the team from getting bogged down in the granular details that haven’t yet been informed by the team’s mission. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/ef4a24e4-556a-4e3b-bf85-62f090b1339c/CS9-keyDesignTakeaways.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out Key takeaways to be included in the final build. Without this research, these invaluable insights would’ve gone undiscovered as missed opportunities for improvement. These takeaways would become our team’s North Star for enhancing the feature’s user interface elements. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/3c5db899-f8d6-4230-8110-8a291c3b1c81/CS1-teamResearchExercise.png Feature and Functionality Optimization - Make it stand out As part of a large discovery effort, important legacy research was placed on a white board, Each team member was given a column (matching the capabilities of their role within the team) to analyze and draw insights from. Those insights were gathered and grouped into categories. The categorized groups exposed the high-level opportunities where the experience could be improved. http://csmithdesign.net/design-thinking-content-strategy-1-1 daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/ca9c919a-7054-4908-aa48-39b1b0417c86/NAV2.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out This team research activity recruited members of the product team to help distill relevant past research that could help our efforts during the next battery of user research. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/9a597795-a627-4efc-9832-3c4628d2b95f/NAV8.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out A competitor analysis allowed our teams to develop a benchmark with which to evaluate our solutions and design ideations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/a59d641d-c0fe-46a7-98fe-012fc50527fa/NAV9.jpg Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/03a74d36-4f36-4343-9aca-c355d61d3f62/NAV7.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out A closer look at the task completion analysis taught us what was now the most valuable content on the site. The audience’s needs had evolved, and the site needed to adapt to those new behaviors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/c3c4d323-7f17-4c10-b77d-767bd1597647/NAV6.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out Represented left is a relabeling of site content based on the patient’s natural, day-to-day lexicon. Pictured right are the results of the card sort study that guided how we would regroup and rename content in the site’s navigation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/e3b37c77-7988-4396-847e-3639404eee11/NAV4.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out A user task completion analysis coupled with areas from improvement derived from legacy research. We now knew the navigation’s weak points, but we didn’t yet fully understand why those categories and their labels had failed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/02495040-153c-4fd9-a2d9-1393a8de7541/NAV9.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out Wireframes demonstrating a new information architecture, streamlined mobile-optimized navigation, and updated content category labeling. Note that each change is supported with relevant user research (red text). Stand-out research insights making major impacts on our decision making were highlighted using large green dots for quick reference in the future. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55817b10e4b034a2621b0ba2/492ee57c-bb3b-4103-b1b3-ad44e4febaef/NAV5.png Creating an Effective Information Architecture Fit to the Audience’s Existing Mental Models - Make it stand out Before we could start the proposal for user research, we needed to formulate the possible creative constraints this enhancement could encounter, as well as bring forward recommendations based on the audience’s literacy rate and familiarity level with our content. We needed to make sure we had synthesized the insights of the past properly to study our new problem, and present the audience with new structures based on what we had learned.