MY ROLE
Web Designer
User Researcher
Copywriter
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.
THE CLIENT
Dr. Goehler has a Ph.D. in physiological psychology. She travels the country, giving seminars on gut-brain health to audiences comprised of both medical professionals and laypeople.
THE RESULT
680% increase in web traffic
230% increase in engagement with website content
But wait...
Why does Dr. Goehler need a website?
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.
Important research findings are flying under the radar.
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.
How can we 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 the survey that could be printed out and displayed at her seminars. Insights revealed:
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
What current online resources exist?
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.
Competitive Research 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.
Interviews with target audience
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.
Bringing research findings together
Problem statement
Practitioners need an easily accessible resource with in-depth, up-to-date information to better help their patients.
Primary customer persona
Secondary customer persona
What will be the core features?
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.
Q&A
Readers can submit questions they want to be answered and published on the site
User flows
First wireframe
Notes
• Opted for cards, because the site heavily focused on blog-like style posts
• Homepage designed to educate new users
• Q&A area functions as a comment section or forum
Second wireframe
Notes
• Established hierarchy and narrowed focus
• Improved navigation across website
• Changed forum to a formal submission box, where questions will be answered as articles, removing need for users to make an account
• Redesigned homepage to be more friendly to repeat visitors by showing new
Hi Fidelity Prototype
Final Product
