Consultancy Website Redesign
Communication Leadership Consulting
University of Washington
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Client
Communication Leadership Consulting,
University of Washington
Team
Project Managers -
Alex Stonehill, Susan Maclaren
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Web developer -
Nick Myers
UX Designer
My Role
Project Overview
Communication Leadership Consulting (Comm Lead Consulting) connects small organizations with motivated graduate students to address communication challenges. As the consultancy grew, its website struggled to serve students and clients effectively. Students needed streamlined access to resources and opportunities, while clients required a clear showcase of impact and an easy application process. The redesign aimed to create a scalable, user-friendly platform that improved engagement and supported future growth.
THE CONTEXT
The consultancy was growing rapidly, increasing demand for its services.
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Founded in 2019 as a response to COVID-19, the consultancy was expanding faster than ever.
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More local organizations and graduate students sought its services.
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Website traffic surged as demand grew.
The existing website was difficult to navigate, leading to user frustration.
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Clients struggled to find relevant information and often got lost within the website.
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Students had difficulty navigating resources and opportunities.
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Many users bypassed the website entirely, reaching out directly to the Consultancy staff.
The challenge:
How Might We create a platform that serves both student consultants and clients with clarity and usability while remaining scalable for future growth?
DESIGN PROCESS
I applied the Double Diamond framework to guide the design process, focusing on problem identification and solution development. This approach ensured thorough exploration, in-depth user research, and iterative design, resulting in effective, user-centered solutions.
RESEARCH
Identifying key usability issues for all stakeholders - Website audit, user interviews, and task-based testing revealed navigation issues, content gaps, and user expectations.
The existing website was difficult to navigate, leading to user frustration.
I conducted a comprehensive review of the consultancy's website to gain insight into the existing user experience and identify pain points.
current state evaluation: (previous) website overview
Key notes:
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Not enough information
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Website visual aesthetics not reflective of Comm Lead’s branding
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Confusing taskflows
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Many broken links
Understanding Users
The website served two key user groups—Student Consultants and Clients.
Student Consultants -
Potential & Existing
Clients -
Potential & Existing
To better understand our users, I conducted interviews to uncover their challenges and assess the website’s usability for both volunteers and clients.
“It's too frustrating! I don’t think they have any current projects listed!? Or for sure I would have found them within the Volunteer or Client pages”
- Potential Volunteer searching for opportunities
“It would have been nice to see the kind of work the consultancy does with the clients they have worked with”
- Potential Client
“I finally got to the job board, but I only see volunteer opportunities! I was expecting paid opportunities too.”
- Potential Volunteer
Key Insights:
#1
Difficulty Finding Opportunities
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Student consultants face ineffective information architecture, making it hard to find paid and volunteer roles.
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This results in high cognitive load, user frustration, and missed engagement opportunities.
#2
Uncertainty About Value
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Clients struggle to understand the consultancy’s impact due to a lack of clear case studies or proof of success.
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This creates distrust and hesitation, making it harder for them to commit to partnering.
#3
Misaligned Mental Models
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Users expect intuitive categorization (e.g., all consultant info in the Consultant tab and client info in the Client tab).
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The current disjointed navigation forces inefficient task flows, increasing user effort and dissatisfaction.
PRODUCT ROADMAP
I brainstormed a list of essential qualities, product elements, and new features to ensure I'd achieve the design goals by the end of the design process. These features were then sorted into two categories -
Must-have (P1) and Nice-to-have (P2), based on how well they can help achieve the design goals. ​
Snapshot of brainstorming phase
P1 (Must-haves)
P2 (Nice-to-haves)
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Declutter website - Clear IA, structured content in every page.
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Unified visual identity & UW branding
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Separate Job board for Paid & Volunteer Opportunities
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A system to easily manage the editing of repetitive links
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​Our Work section
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Organized Logo Wall
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Picture Gallery
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Impact stats
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Infographics - Our Journey timeline, Our process
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Video Elements
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Mission & Vision Statements
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Featured News Section
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Resource Section​
CONTENT STRATEGY & COLLABORATION
The content was strategically designed for clarity and brevity, enabling users to quickly access key information without cognitive overload. Through close collaboration with the consultancy team, the messaging was aligned with user needs and business objectives to enhance usability and engagement.
Screenshots of collaboration – finalizing webpage content and copy
Finalizing content for each webpage to ensure accuracy and clarity
SITEMAP
To structure the website effectively, I developed its Information Architecture by creating a sitemap to map content relationships and define the navigation hierarchy.
Key User Behaviors from Research:
Task - Oriented Users→ Skip the homepage and navigate directly via the top menu.
Exploratory Users → Start at the homepage, then use the top menu for deeper browsing.
Proposed Site Map - Comm Lead Consulting Website
VISUAL BRANDING
The color palette was thoughtfully applied to ensure a visually cohesive and engaging user experience while aligning with UW’s official branding. This consistency helps establish credibility and reinforce the consultancy’s connection to the program.
CONTENT DESIGN SOLUTIONS
To bridge gaps in user understanding and improve engagement, I developed content solutions based on identified pain points. This approach ensured that the messaging aligned with user needs, improved discoverability, and strengthened the consultancy’s credibility.
Solving For User Pain Points & Needs:
#1
Difficulty Finding Opportunities due to confusing Job Board navigation
The 'Job Board' combined both paid and volunteer opportunities under two tabs, with volunteer opportunities set as the default view. Positioned at the bottom of the page and with minimal visibility, these tabs were frequently overlooked, leading many users to miss out on available paid opportunities.
Design Solution: Redesigned job board
confusing Job Board navigation
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Separate paid and volunteer opportunities into two distinct sections for better visibility.
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Improve affordances so users can quickly identify relevant job types.
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Streamline navigation, eliminating confusion and reducing cognitive load.
Users can now efficiently browse and apply for opportunities without friction.
Separate paid and volunteer opportunities into two distinct job boards for better visibility.
#2
Uncertainty About Value
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Clients struggled to understand the consultancy’s impact due to the absence of case studies or proof of success.
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Without visibility into past projects, clients found it difficult to assess the consultancy’s expertise and credibility.
Design Solution: 'Our Work' section
Since no case studies previously existed, a brand-new 'Our Work' section was designed to:
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Establish a clear track record by introducing structured case studies.
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Improve transparency by showcasing past projects and their impact.
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Scale over time, allowing new case studies to be added as the consultancy grows.
Page Layout Iterations - Paper Wireframes
The final layout was selected after several iterations for its scalability, clarity, and ease of use. It ensures the 'Our Work' section is user-friendly and adaptable, enabling clients to easily understand the consultancy's impact while browsing the expanding portfolio.​
Final 'Our Work' page
#3
Limited and delayed access to resources for student consultants
We identified a need for additional support and guidance among volunteers - student consultants felt unsupported due to the lack of resources, leading to inefficiencies in their volunteer work. Many relied on ad-hoc guidance from peers or faculty, which created inconsistencies in skill development and delayed project progress.
Design Solution: A Scalable, Curated Resource Hub
To address this, a curated ‘Resources’ section was designed and developed, offering streamlined access to faculty-vetted tools and training materials. Key aspects included:
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Faculty-Approved Content: Materials were collaboratively curated with faculty to ensure accuracy and relevance.
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Intuitive Categorization & Targeted Skill Development: Resources were organized into five distinct categories mirroring the consultancy’s core services, enabling faster navigation.
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Scalable Architecture: The section's modular architecture allowed for seamless expansion as new resources and needs emerged.
Page Layout Iterations - Paper Wireframes
Multiple wireframe iterations were tested to optimize the resource section's usability, balancing dense information with scannability.
Key considerations included
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hierarchy (prioritizing frequently used resources),
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intuitive category labeling, and
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mobile responsiveness.
The final layout was selected for its clarity and scalability, organizing materials into a structured yet flexible grid. This system accommodates future additions without clutter, ensuring the page evolves as a sustainable, comprehensive guide.
Final 'Resources' page
UX ENHANCEMENTS FOR RELEVANCE & ENGAGEMENT
Targeted interface updates were made to keep the platform relevant, boost engagement, and make content easier to understand—ensuring the platform adapts to both user needs and organizational goals.
Interactive Features for Enhanced Engagement
A counter-up timer was added to display impact stats, making key data points more engaging and easier to understand. This interactive element captures users’ attention and highlights important metrics effectively.
Infographics for Clearer Communication
OUR JOURNEY
I created an animated infographic for the "Our Journey" section, visually depicting the consultancy's milestones and achievements. This dynamic element provides an engaging overview of the consultancy's progress and helps users easily grasp its evolution over time.
OUR PROCESS
The consultancy team repeatedly faced questions about the workflow, indicating a need for clarity. To address this, we designed separate, scannable process maps to reduce cognitive load and create self-service clarity for each user type.
Our Process - Volunteers
Our Process - Clients
STRATEGIC UX WRITING FOR CLARITY
Defining the consultancy’s first mission and vision statements
As the consultancy became a cornerstone of the program, its purpose needed to be clearly defined. Through collaborative UX writing, we developed mission and vision statements that now:
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Align teams around shared objectives
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Set clear expectations for volunteers and clients
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Guide strategic decisions as the program scales
I facilitated discussions with the consultancy team to ensure the statements accurately reflected its goals and values, then crafted the final versions to clearly communicate its purpose and aspirations to both clients and volunteers.
Notes from Brainstorming sessions with the team
Final Mission & Vision Statments of Comm Lead Consultancy - on the website
FINAL PRODUCT
By integrating user-centric features and scalable elements, the website now delivers a clear, engaging, and efficient experience. It is fully responsive across different screen sizes, ensuring consistent usability on mobile, tablet, and desktop. This adaptability enables the site to grow alongside the consultancy’s evolving needs, ensuring long-term flexibility and success.
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PRODUCT EVALUATION
The project achieved its goals of enhancing the website’s user experience and scalability. By incorporating user-centric and scalable design elements, the site now offers a streamlined and engaging experience that adapts to the consultancy's evolving needs.
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Key performance metrics highlight the success of the redesign:​
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Increased successful user sign-ups by 60%,
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User engagement rose by 45%, and
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Bounce rates dropped by 30%.
These metrics underscore the effectiveness of the design improvements in making navigation intuitive and content easily accessible.
REFLECTION & NEXT STEPS
This project was especially meaningful to me, as I’ve been closely involved with the consultancy long before the website redesign. Understanding its mission firsthand, I saw the opportunity to enhance its reach and effectiveness through thoughtful UX improvements. The challenges weren’t just about design—they were about clarifying the consultancy’s value, making processes intuitive, and ensuring scalability for future growth.
Reflecting on the redesign, it’s clear that the project achieved its core objectives. By separating volunteer and client workflows, we turned institutional knowledge into intuitive processes that catered to each group’s distinct needs. Reflecting on the redesign, it’s clear that the project achieved its core objectives.
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Next steps involve conducting usability studies, performing additional A/B testing to refine interactions, and closely monitoring the site as new data and resources are added to ensure the scalability of the design continues to function effectively.