Overview
Date: September 2020
Project period: 5 months
Role: Lead Product Designer
My contributions
UX design
UI design
Architecture Infrastructure
User Research
Kit
Axure RP 8
Miro
Azure DevOps
Optimal Workshop
This project holds a special place for me, as it was my first as a lead designer after joining my first agency. It came with its own set of challenges: there were budget constraints, and discovery had already been done by a previous designer who’d left the business. The main aim was to move the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) from their old Sitecore page to a new Umbraco-based site, while still letting them express their artistic identity.
RPS is a well-established charity with a rich history, but they recognised the need to stay relevant in the modern world. Their existing website structure was outdated, and they needed a fresh, more intuitive approach to managing information, as well as a design that kept their creative roots intact.
I joined the project when it was halfway through and had to quickly get up to speed. The previous designer didn’t leave much to go on, so I spent time reviewing his designs and catching up with the client, the RPS stakeholders. One of the first things I realised was that we’d already burned through half the budget, and the proposed solution was far too ambitious for what was left. So, I worked with the team to make strategic decisions on where we could scale back while still delivering a strong user experience.
A major part of my role was improving user journeys. The original designs had pain points that made navigation confusing. I reviewed these journeys in-depth, refined them based on user feedback, and streamlined interactions to create a smoother experience. The goal was to make sure that users could easily find what they were looking for without getting frustrated.
RPS had an existing information architecture (IA) they were keen on developing, but it was based on assumptions, without any real user input. I suggested tree testing as a way to validate those assumptions. This kind of testing strips away the visual elements, so users are relying purely on how the information is organised. It quickly became clear that the IA wasn’t working as intended, and we had to make adjustments.
As a membership organisation with a limited budget, I also trained the RPS team on how to run their own tests. This gave them the tools to keep refining their IA in the future, as it can take several iterations to get it right.
Designing for Umbraco was all about flexibility. We needed components that could be easily adjusted to meet different needs across the organisation. I took a mobile-first approach to ensure the design was responsive and looked great on any device. This flexibility meant that RPS would have a website that not only looked good but was practical and adaptable to future needs.
One of the biggest challenges was keeping the UI engaging and in line with the RPS’s artistic identity. Working closely with a front-end developer, we drew inspiration from National Geographic’s focus on impactful imagery. We came up with a feature that pulls the most dominant colour from each image and uses it to frame the content block, giving the website a vibrant, creative feel.
Despite the tight budget and taking over halfway through, we managed to deliver a flexible, user-friendly website that captured the creative essence of RPS. The result was a modernised platform that not only improved navigation but also embraced the beauty and artistry central to the Royal Photographic Society’s brand.
