(WORKING) STEP-UP

UI/UX

STEP-UP

Overview

The Short-Term Research Experience Program to Unlock Potential (STEP-UP) offers hands-on summer research experience at institutions around the country for high school and undergraduate students.

Client: NIDDK
Industry: Government
Role: UX/UI Designer

The Ask

Each year, the scientist that leads this STEP-UP program receives emails from high school and undergrad students asking questions about the program that the website already has answers to. We were tasked to reduce the number of inquiries the staff at NIDDK receives for a summer research program.

Each year, a certain percentage of accepted students end up declining, after they’ve already committed to the program, in favor of other opportunities at other academic institutions.

Competitor Analysis

I analyzed 8 competitor programs on their information architecture, content strategy, and design to gauge where we are. Among these programs, Mayo clinic stood out due to their clear and engaging copy writing, custom visuals, and big CTAs.

User Research

My team and I interviewed 5 students to understand their experiences, needs, and wants with summer research programs. We recruited 3 undergrad and 2 high school seniors. They span a range of geographies (urban, suburban, rural) and have a mix of application status. We took turns interviewing and taking notes.

Plain Langauge Rewrite

We rewrote the content from the students' perspective by clearly listing the benefits that matter to them the most and used easy-to-scan headings. We interviewed 5 students to understand their experiences, needs, and wants with summer research programs. We recruited 3 undergrad and 2 high school seniors. They span a range of geographies (urban, suburban, rural) and have a mix of application status. We took turns interviewing and taking notes.

Recruitment Criteria:
• High school ? University students, 18+
• Applied or enrolled in a summer research program before
• Familiar with student summer reserach program websites
• US citizen

Hi-Fi Wireframes

For homepage redesign, we emphasized attractive aspects of our program that students said they liked: flexibility of the location, finance, networking opportunities, etc. On the "what to expect" page, we numbered the steps for better scanning, and used blocks to highlight what students said they look for first in research programs: details of the program, such as dates and time commitment.

Hi-Fi Wireframes

For homepage redesign, we emphasized attractive aspects of our program that students said they liked: flexibility of the location, finance, networking opportunities, etc.

On the "what to expect" page, we numbered the steps for better scanning, and used blocks to highlight what students said they look for first in research programs: details of the program, such as dates and time commitment.