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I led the end-to-end design and re-architecture of a college website, including everything from stakeholder management, user interviews, design ideations, non-code development, QA and delivery.

TIME ON SITE

2 x

PAGES PER SESSION

2 x

BOUNCE RATE

16 %

DAILY AVERAGE VISIT

123 %

Landing Page BEFORE

Landing Page AFTER

PROBLEM SPACE

A website that could not keep up with evolving needs

he college website had been continuously updated with critical information, such as admission deadlines and program details, but had not been re-architected in close to a decade.

With no clear documentation or ownership clarity, the team struggled to maintain and evolve the site. Over time, content was frequently removed to reduce complexity, resulting in a thin, fragmented experience with limited information and unclear messaging.

BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS

The lack of structure and clear ownership led to inconsistent messaging and a weakened digital presence.

Outdated or incomplete information reduced trust with prospective students
Unclear messaging made it difficult to communicate the school’s value
Fragmented experience increased drop-off during exploration

Negative impact on student recruitment and faculty hiring

To better understand the problem space, I spoke with current students, faculty and staff to understand their experiences and perspectives.

Students

Faculty

Staff

Students

Goal: Understand how riders use the shuttle day to day, and how they estimate pickup and drop-off timing when coordinating with drivers.

Interviewed: 10 riders

Total: 100 riders on average per week

Faculty

Goal: Understand how drivers operate—whether they follow a schedule or respond to demand—and identify any challenges in coordination.

Interviewed: 2 drivers

Total: 2 primary drivers + 1 backup

Staff

Goal: Understand day-to-day responsibilities and challenges in managing drivers and coordinating requests.

Interviewed: 1

Total: 1 operator managing drivers

Students

Goal: Understand how riders use the shuttle day to day, and how they estimate pickup and drop-off timing when coordinating with drivers.

Interviewed: 10 riders

Total: 100 riders on average per week

Faculty

Staff

DISCOVERY

67% of users expressed frustration with unclear or outdated information

Across interviews, users consistently struggled to find accurate and up-to-date information. Missing details, outdated content, and unclear messaging made it difficult to trust the website as a reliable source, often forcing users to seek answers elsewhere.

Users releaved

"I looked at the website before enrolling, but the transfer information was confusing and didn’t show which partner schools were actually possible."

43%

of current students visited before enrolling

67%

frustrated by missing/outdated info

“I tried to find details about the dorms (like what to bring or what’s provided) but that information wasn’t there.”

Data showed

42 sec

avg. time on site

47%

bounce rate

1.8 pages

per session

USER PROBLEM

How might we help prospective students and families navigate easily so that they can find what they need without confusion?

Let's align user needs with business goals.

The three stakeholder groups had competing priorities. To avoid spreading efforts too thin, I introduced a framework to prioritize initiatives while aligning with user needs.

PRIORITIZATION

Stakeholders had competing priorities.

“We need to update the content. What’s there now is outdated.”

The site is too thin, we need more content overall.”

“The backend is messy and difficult to maintain.”

Looking into data, relative to traffic, engagement was low.

Traffic was unexpectedly strong, indicating a critical touchpoint in their decision-making journey.

95%

of visitors are new visitors

43%

of new students visited before enrolling

But engagement had a different story, where users weren't spending too much time.

42 sec

avg. time on site

1.8 pages

per session

47%

bounce rate

In order to ensure meaninful progress, I introduced a phased roadmap to align user needs with business goals.

Let's re-focus the HMW statement.

NEW USER PROBLEM

How might we help users quickly find relevant, reliable information so they stay engaged and move forward with confidence?

PROCESS

Designing with clarity, structure, and iteration

Given the complexity of multiple stakeholders and unclear information structures, I focused on a process that prioritized early alignment and continuous iteration to ensure decisions stayed grounded and impactful.

Audit

Identify key usability, content, and structural gaps impacting engagement

Strategize & Ideate

Define direction and positioning through research and cross-site analysis

Test & Iterate

Validate ideas through testing and refined the experience based on user behavior

Design Audit

Here's an example of a design audit conducted to identify key usability and experience gaps across the website.

Landing page (before)

Navigation & Structure:

Unclear information architecture obscures content hierarchy and discoverability
Inconsistent prioritization creates fragmented user flows

Visual Design:

Low readability due to poor contrast and text hierarchy
Weak visual hierarchy, making key information difficult to scan and prioritize

Content & Messaging:

Content lacks recency (testimonials are almost 10 years old) and authenticity, weakening credibility and emotional connection

Strategize & Ideate

Analyzed peer college websites, both locally and globally, to understand how similar institutions position their content, voice, and user experience. This informed a clear direction for HTIC’s north star.

Positioning Map

Test & Iterate

Although based in Hawai‘i, HTIC primarily serves an international student population, requiring the experience to support two distinct audiences with different information needs.

This project required designing for two distinct audiences.

Hypothesis

Test

Observations

Iteration

Outcome

Outcome

65% of users clicked a segmented CTA

After iteration, segmented CTAs saw a 45% increase in engagement, confirming that clearer audience pathways improved navigation.

“International Students” became the #2 most visited page

Improved visibility and segmentation helped users reach relevant content faster, reinforcing HTIC’s goal of serving two distinct audiences.

Landing page (after)

Navigation & Structure:

Streamlined navigation with clear information hierarchy
Improved content prioritization for faster discovery
Segmented entry points for distinct user needs

Content & Messaging:

Concise, scannable summaries to support quick understanding
Updated metrics to strengthen credibility and trust
Updated metrics to strengthen credibility and trust

Engagement & Authenticity:

Integrated real-time social content to reflect student life

Content & Messaging:

Alumni stories to highlight outcomes and lived experiences

CHALLENGE

Operating in a regulated, multi-stakeholder environment

Here's more info about the dynamic of the team.

This means layers of approvals.

executives

department heads

50+

contributors

I brought some structure for alignment and execution.

To move efficiently within this environment, I established a system to align stakeholders and maintain momentum:

STRATEGY WORKSHOP

Having a shared understanding of current state and aligning early with executives on priorities, scope, and decision-making criteria to reduce downstream conflicts.

SHARED VISIBILITY

Used a centralized Gantt chart to track tasks, dependencies, and deadlines—giving all stakeholders visibility into progress and ownership.

SHARED DECISION-MAKING

Facilitated decision reviews with key stakeholders—presenting options, gathering feedback, and driving alignment at critical milestones.

CLEAR OWNERSHIP & ACCOUNTABILITY

Defined what each department needed to review, by when, and for what purpose—ensuring feedback was focused and actionable.

FINAL DELIVERY

A redesigned website with clear pathways and audience-specific experiences

College website

Also optimized for mobile experience

Measured Outcomes

The redesigned experience led to measurable improvements in user engagement and site performance.

TIME ON SITE

2 x

42s → 95s

BOUNCE RATE

16 %

40% → 40%

PAGES PER SESSION

2 x

1.8 → 3.9

DAILY AVERAGE VISIT

123 %

(42.7/day → 95.3/day)

Business Impact

Beyond usability improvements, the project delivered measurable business impact through reduced operational costs and more efficient workflows.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

49 %

$564/yr → $288/yr

Stakeholder Reflections

I want to express my deepest gratitude to you as well! It was a very fulfilling project to be a part of, and I have learned so much from you… and I am also happy to have made it this far and to have gone on this journey with such a skilled professional such as yourself. Looking forward to polishing the website going forward.

Mahalo Nui Loa,

Liaison @ HTIC

Mahalo nui to you and everyone who worked on this. It looks great and we really appreciate all your hard work!

Faculty @ HTIC

FINAL THOUGHTS

Designing in a regulated environment requires balancing accuracy with clarity and engagement

WHAT I LEARNED

Building strong alignment with all collaborators

Shared visibility for alignemnt

Making work, timelines, and dependencies visible across teams helped reduce ambiguity and enabled stakeholders to take ownership of their contributions.

Involving stakeholders at key moments

Bringing the right stakeholders into defined decision points kept feedback focused, reduced rework, and enabled faster, more confident decisions.

WHAT'S NEXT

Scaling the system for long-term governance

Strengthen governance

Establish clearer ownership and processes to ensure content remains accurate, up-to-date, and aligned as the site evolves.

Expand the system

Continue evolving the platform to better serve additional user groups, including current students, alumni, and internal stakeholders.