Erin Norris

User Experience

Architecture and Ux

Role: Web Content Admin
Organization: Wayne State University
Project Timeline: current

A brief look at my process of walking through the beginning stages of bringing together the architecture of five sites into one.

screenshot of figma diagram showing a browsers journey of landing on the homepage, selecting design, then picking fashion merchandizing and then landing on the BS in design and merchandising

Site Deconstruction

Role: Information Architect
Organization: Washtenaw Community College – User Experience I
Project Timeline: April 2017

Site Deconstruction of toledozoo.org

To assist in the redesign of the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium website, the existing website was deconstructed to identify not only the present structure but also any structural issues that will need to be addressed in the redesign. A site outline and a structural/functional site diagram reveal the structure and relationship of pages on the website.

The primary strength of the existing structure is the extensive use of cross-linking, which speeds up navigation and links together conceptually related material from across the sections of the website. There are also various areas of improvement for the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium website. These areas include the following:

  • Increase consistency between link/button labels and the names of the pages to which they lead.
  • Clarify labeling for some pages.
  • Fix or remove broken links and tile duplications on pages.
  • Provide accurate and complete breadcrumb information.

Sample of Toledo Zoo & Aquarium Site Diagram:

Homepage diagram showing boxes 1.0 -1.12
Two diagram boxes showing 1.14 Concerts and 1.13 Videos on level 2
Diagram of website showing boxes 1.1-1.1.7.2
Site diagram showing Level 3-5 and boxes 1.1.2-1.1.3.4.1

Sample of An Expert review report

Role: User Experience Specialist
Organization: Washtenaw Community College – User Experience II
Project Timeline: Oct. 2019

Executive Summary Page

An expert review was conducted on the nps.gov website, examining all of the pages that comprise the website. The inspection focused on identifying any and all usability issues, while also pointing out strengths of the website that should be maintained.

The most significant usability issues identified in this evaluation include:

  • Global navigation is complicated to find and not easy to access. Proposed interface changes place the global navigation on the top of every page rather than a drop-down menu. These changes make using the global navigation easier for the user.
  • Potentially unclear labels. Numerous label revisions are recommended, including re-labeling ‘Passes’ as ‘Park Passes’ for clarity.
  • The color of links is inconsistent through the website.  Multiple colors are used for hyperlinks. All links should be changed to blue and underlined, which will allow the user to identify them as links.
  • Subpages throughout the website have differing layouts and designs.  Users expect the layout to be similar on every page of the website, which is not the case on multiple subpages. A consistent, branded layout should be used for all pages.
  • Placement of page titles is inconsistent. Proposed changes would left align all web page titles in the header of each page. These changes make the site more consistent and visually appealing.  

While these issues are among the most pressing usability concerns for the nps.gov website, a number of additional usability issues that also deserve attention are detailed in the analysis, with recommended solutions.