The Project
To design and build a website where the client can disseminate up-to-date research findings on gut health while communicating with readers.
My Roles
UX Researcher
Visual Designer
Copy Writer
Site Builder
Background
Dr. Goehler has a Ph.D. in physiological psychology. She travels the country, giving seminars about gut-brain health to audiences comprised of both medical professionals and laypeople. From talking with her audience, she has noticed a significant gap in the common knowledge of gut-brain health and the knowledge from that of up-to-date research. In other words, important research findings are flying under the radar, even among medical professionals. As Dr. Goehler nears retirement, she wants a new website where she can continue educating and answering questions.
In 2015, Dr. Goehler created a website with a similar purpose; however, it has been unable to be updated in recent years due to technical issues. This website was used as a starting point for this project.
Research
User Surveys
In order to get feedback from her seminar audience, I used SurveyMonkey to create an online survey. I then made a flyer with a QR code linking to it that could be printed out and displayed at her seminars.
Users want articles, recipes, and a place to ask Dr. Goehler questions
Users are comfortable with scientific language
Medical news sites are users’ most popular source of health information
Competitive Analysis
If we want to understand why there is a knowledge gap, we must understand what current resources are available. Target users primarily use research journals and medical news sites.
Key findings
There is an absence of web-based resources that provide trustworthy and in-depth information in a free, accessible, and user-friendly platform.
User Interviews
Practitioners are not taught in-depth about the details of gut biology.
Users want a resource as comprehensive as research papers, but more accessible.
They want to know the “why” and “how”, not just the “what”.
Practitioners want information and recipes they can give their patients.
Define
Problem statement
Practitioners need an easily accessible resource with in-depth, up-to-date information to better help their patients.
User personas
Primary
Secondary
A secondary user persona was included because Dr. Goehler wants her website to also be accessible and helpful to people struggling with gut issues.
What will be the core features of the website?
Articles
Articles written about various topics under the general umbrella of gut-brain health and wellness.
Recipes
Recipes that are healthy while being relatively cheap and easy to make.
Readers' Q&A
Readers can submit questions they want to be answered, and Dr. Goehler will publish the question and answer on the website.
User flows
Second Wireframe
- Established hierarchy and narrowed focus
- Improved navigation across website
- Changed forum to a formal submission box, where questions will be answered as articles
- This removed the need for users to make an account
- Redesigned homepage to be more friendly to repeat visitors by showing new content
Hi Fidelity Prototype
Final Product
After usability testing and more iterations, gutadvisor.org has been fine-tuned to reach its current design.
- Removed the “Explore” dropdown and moved the links to the main navigation
- Replaced subscription CTA with a promotion for Dr. Goehler’s book
- Adjusted colors, typography, and spacing
Mobile
Web
Fonts
Playfair Display
Archivo
Colors
Logo
