PROJECT 3: Spark & Stitch Institute
Website Redesign through User-Centered Research
Role: UX Researcher
Duration: 20 weeks
Team: Multiple researchers, developers, project managers, executives
Overview
Led a comprehensive user research initiative to redesign the Spark & Stitch website, identifying critical user pain points through a rigorous 5-phase interview process and translating insights into actionable design solutions that aligned with both user needs and executive goals.
Background
Spark & Stitch required a website redesign to better serve their target user personas while addressing executive concerns about user engagement and conversion. The project scope was defined by financial logistics and timeline constraints, requiring a focused research approach that balanced depth with efficiency.
Research Questions
What are the primary pain points users experience when interacting with the current Spark & Stitch website?
How do user personas align with executive perceptions of ideal vs. actual clients?
Which design elements and user flows need optimization to improve user satisfaction and site performance?
Methodology
Phase 1: Executive Discussion & Planning
Gauged user personas and pain points through stakeholder interviews.
Established project scope informed by financial logistics and timeline.
Designated target demographics (mental health professionals and caregivers) to narrow participant pool.
Phase 2: Pre-Screening & Qualification
Developed qualification guidelines and screening questionnaires aligned with target user personas.
Designed and deployed remote pre-screener via SurveyMonkey with branching logic to filter qualified participants.
Systematically tracked pre-screening responses, telephone confirmations, and scheduling using Excel spreadsheets.
Phase 3: Interview Planning & Execution
Developed structured interview protocols with thoughtfully sequenced prompts, informed by cognitive psychology principles.
Managed legal compliance by obtaining signed confidentiality waivers and consent forms ahead of interviews.
Orchestrated interview logistics with dual-researcher approach: primary interviewer conducted one-on-one conversations while secondary researcher monitored for completeness and follow-up opportunities.
Phase 4: Analysis & Synthesis
Led collaborative analysis sessions using structured note-taking protocols to minimize researcher bias.
Architected comprehensive Work Activity Affinity Diagram (WAAD) in Miro, categorizing observations into thematic. clusters (About section: website form, client goals, primary audience; Interaction section: analytics, intended pathways, client-perceived pain points).
Synthesized findings into actionable insights grounded in cognitive psychology principles (attention span limitations, recognition vs. recall, information scent).
Phase 5: Design & Evaluation
Created user journey maps and storyboards in Figma to visualize user flows and pain points.
Designed page redesigns in Figma applying cognitive affordance principles (universal icons, breadcrumb trails) and accessibility guidelines (key takeaways, bolded sections, strategic information hierarchy).
Executed follow-up (longitudinal) interviews with previously-selected participants, testing redesigned pages and gathering qualitative feedback on usability and cognitive load.
Phase 6: Executive Presentation & Implementation
Crafted executive presentation synthesizing research methodology, personas, journey maps, and projected impact metrics with visualizations.
Delivered presentation explaining research-validated pain points and cognitive psychology principles underlying design decisions.
Facilitated interactive prototype demonstration session, gathering stakeholder feedback.
Personally implemented all design changes directly in WordPress, translating Figma prototypes into functional HTML/CSS with responsive design and accessibility standards (WCAG compliance).
Analysis & Findings
Key Pain Points Identified:
Limited site exploration:
80%+ of participants reported "staying on the blog post they landed on" without navigating to other pages, indicating breakdown in information scent and navigation affordances.
Cognitive overload:
Initial redesigns introduced too many sensory artifacts simultaneously ("The page feels crowded"), violating cognitive load principles and overwhelming working memory.
Lack of spatial orientation:
Users frequently reported feeling "lost" within the site structure, preventing accurate mental models of information architecture.
User Persona Insights
Research revealed a significant gap between executive perceptions of ideal clients (engaged, site-exploring users) and actual user behavior (skimming, single-page visitors), informing design solutions that accommodate real user behaviors.
User interviews uncovered that individuals frequently skim online information, with many participants explicitly stating they "don't read everything" and prefer "key takeaways" and "bolded sections," directly informing content hierarchy and chunking strategies.
Discovered tension between providing comprehensive, scholarly information (aligning with brand values) and accommodating users' limited attention spans—requiring ongoing ethical consideration in design decisions.
Design Opportunities
Navigation and information architecture: Implemented breadcrumb trails, universal icons (carousels, shaded tabs), and improved information scent to guide users and encourage exploration beyond initial landing pages.
Content and messaging optimizations: Restructured content to support feature-driven reading for skilled users while providing contextual cues for less-skilled users, incorporating bolded sections, key takeaways, and progressive disclosure techniques.
Visual design elements: Applied cognitive affordance principles using familiar UI patterns (carousels, tabs) to reduce learning curve, designed for accessibility through strategic visual hierarchy, white space, and content chunking.
Recommendations & Impact
Implemented Solutions
Strategic content reorganization with progressive disclosure
Result: Follow-up interviews showed 60% improvement in user-reported "ease of reading" and comprehension.
Breadcrumb navigation and spatial orientation cues
Result: Projected to increase internal navigation by 25-30% based on improved information scent and reduced disorientation.
Universal icons and familiar UI patterns (carousels, shaded tabs)
Result: Leveraged recognition over recall principles, reducing cognitive load and improving learnability.
Projected vs Actual Outcomes
Generated projections for site traffic impacts: Internal page navigation (25-30% increase), time-on-site metrics (15-20% increase), user engagement with multiple pages per session (35-40% increase).
Established baseline metrics and analytics tracking framework to measure actual outcomes post-implementation.
Reflection
Process Insights
Participant reuse strategy was strategically mandated by executives' project scope constraints (time & cost). While limiting sample diversity, this approach provided valuable longitudinal insights and enabled direct comparison of user responses before and after design changes, strengthening iterative design validity.
Decision to proceed directly into designing rather than regrouping was based on maintaining research momentum and demonstrating rapid value delivery, requiring careful balancing of user research integrity with agile development constraints.
Lessons Learned
Deepened understanding of how cognitive load theory, attention span limitations, and information processing principles translate directly into design decisions. Recognized that even well-intentioned design additions (like author bios and related articles) can create unintended cognitive overload when not balanced with information hierarchy principles.
Discovered ongoing tension between providing comprehensive, scholarly information (aligning with brand values) and accommodating users' scanning behaviors and limited attention spans—requiring creative solutions that honor both user needs and brand values.
Fostering effective communication and planning proved critical to project success. Recognized strengths in communication, organization, and research methodology, while the experience implementing WordPress changes directly was highly valuable for understanding the full design-to-development pipeline.
I also redesigned and directed implementation for this project! If you'd like to view that part of the project, please click here.
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