This project was a passionate redesign of one of my most used websites: Maricopa Community College. In early 2022, I embarked to develop a website that would provide a better and more positive user experience. This website was chosen due to my familiarity with it and frustration using it. Through this, I engaged in an emotionally satisfying experience while developing personal skills and abilities. 

When starting, I had to become close with the idea of what the user was and engage with them actively.  To accomplish this, personas – fictional mockups of users that represent some identity of the userbase – were created based on my understanding of the users of MCC services. Users were then found and surveyed using personally crafted questionnaires on Google Forms. 

Using feedback from the first round of testing, wireframes were created that streamlined the home page and student center while incorporating elements from MyInfo. The language was crafted to be concise, eliminating duplicate wording present throughout the website. In the second round of user testing, the same users were led to interact with the crafted wireframes developed on Canva and Figma to navigate the redesigned MCC website. 

The users reported finding the navigation easier, and they appreciated the clean design and language. 

Throughout this project, design techniques like Gestalt Theory, such as hierarchy, grouping, and proximity were utilized to visually communicate with users. I also adapted and used technologies completely new to me, like Illustrator, Figma, and some personal favorites, like Canva.

This was t he first ambitious and innovative project that I've undertaken. There was never a significant emotional connection with me and my work, but this one taught me how important it is to be driven in that way. Since this presentation, and assignment, all of my topics have been deeply personal, passionately driven projects with real world data, evidence, or otherwise related.