Requirement: ESR wishes to engage Catalyst to implement a new theme for the COVID Surveillance website. This new Website will leverage the existing CWP ESR web platform and developed as a subsite under the main ESR website. 

Client: The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute (CRI). Its purpose is to deliver scientific and research services to the public health, food safety, security and justice systems, and the environmental sector to improve the safety of, and contribute to the economic, environmental and social well-being of people and communities in New Zealand.

Target Audience: Anyone who wants to access to public surveillance data and information

Features and Functions: 

A new A-Z Topics page type to manage and view topics content
News listing page and News Pages for publication and news sections
Landing Page for each main section (COVID-19, EARS,GMR,FLU)

Time frame: up to 1 week

Tools: Photoshop | Illustrator | Zeplin | XD

Role: UX/UI designer

The best approach to solving any problem is to understand it first. After the first meeting, I got to know the client’s basic requirements and the example sites they wish us to use as a reference. The meeting was the perfect way for us to understand their needs. I started by looking at sample sites to study user needs, and talked to our user experience team to get better understanding of the site structure.

Information Architecture: The design of the information architecture was a separate, yet integral part of the project. It required a thorough understanding of the content and how users would interact with it. The goal was to create a scalable and intuitive structure, making it easy for users to find and engage with the content. It aligned with user goals,  which is efficiently access to the public surveillance data and information, and get resources easily. 

The client wish to have a new A-Z topics page type to manage and view topics content. The core design challenge was to get a tidy page alignment while bearing the CMS theme constraints in mind. Meanwhile, users can get a good browsing and searching experience on this page. We talked about the possible page layout options, and discussed the potential issues i.e. varying in text lengths. Finally, we came up with the one column alphabet listing style with a clickable top navigation bar and a search function on top.

We delivered user experience across a wide range of device types. The mobile version showcases our capability of creating responsive digital design.
We have been expecting the launch site after the design phrase. However, the client is still loading their content. Hopefully, we can see the live website soon.​​​​​​​

Reflection: I have built strong relationships with both the client and the team. I’ve gained trust within the team, and the client has remained loyal. I honed my UX design skills and acquired valuable knowledge.