Tech Alliance of Southwest Florida Redesign.
The existing platform made it difficult to find groups, predict navigation, or discover upcoming events without guessing. I reorganized the information structure, surfaced groups and events directly, and standardized interactions so users could complete core tasks with confidence.
Scope Research → IA → Wireframes → High‑fidelity → Testing → Handoff
What broke, and what the research confirmed.
Users couldn't find groups, predict navigation, or locate upcoming events without guessing.
- ✶Interactive elements appeared clickable but produced no response
- ✶Navigation behavior was inconsistent across page types
- ✶Homepage hierarchy gave equal weight to unequal actions
- ✶Events were buried behind a calendar with no visible overview
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Nine recurring violations found A heuristic review identified nine interaction issues across consistency, click expectations, and information hierarchy, pointing to systemic problems rather than isolated bugs.
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Competitors surfaced content immediately Peer platforms surfaced events and groups on landing. Tech Alliance required multiple clicks for either.
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Stakeholder priorities were clear Stakeholders consistently prioritized dedicated group pages, a unified event feed, and visible member activity.
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Users gave up before succeeding Feedback consistently flagged navigation confusion, missing events, and text-heavy pages as the primary barriers to engagement.
Interactive elements looked clickable but did nothing, so users lost confidence before exploring further.
Navigation, cards, and the calendar competed equally for attention with no clear entry point.
Events required clicking individual calendar dates, with no overview and no at-a-glance scanning.
The same elements behaved differently across pages, causing users to stop exploring early.
How might we make it immediately clear where to find groups, events, and key actions without requiring users to search or guess?
Ideation & Low‑Fidelity Design
Those findings shaped three structural questions: where navigation should live, how groups should be weighted, and how events could surface without relying on a calendar.
Core design principlesIcons, cards, and header nav all led to the same destination, so users could start from anywhere.
A balanced 3×2 layout ensured all groups received equal visibility above the fold.
Long text blocks were broken up so users could identify groups without reading every word.
- 01Homepage hierarchy and entry points
- 02Equal visual weight across all six groups
- 03Group page content prioritization
- 04Events moved above the calendar view
- 05Text density reduced for faster scanning
Layouts adapted across desktop, tablet, and mobile, with condensed navigation, hamburger access, and deeper scroll on smaller screens.
High-Fidelity Solution
Early wireframe decisions evolved into a clearer system where navigation became predictable, events surfaced naturally, and interactions felt consistent across the experience.
Mockups- ✶Consistent link behavior
- ✶Clickable icons, titles, cards
- ✶Mobile hamburger menu
- ✶Clear group discovery
- ✶Hierarchy organized around primary actions
- ✶Visible summaries and social links
- ✶Organizer info surfaced
- ✶Events visible without opening a calendar
- ✶Responsive grid and carousel
- ✶Reusable components
- ✶Consistent spacing
- ✶Predictable interaction states
Testing & Iteration
The redesign created clearer pathways. Testing then validated whether those decisions actually reduced friction when real users engaged with them.
Test MethodologyExplored icons first, then used cards for context and the header for quick navigation.
Switched fluidly between icons and header nav depending on the task.
Tapped icons first, then used the hamburger menu. Scrolling was secondary.
Four small fixes that made the experience feel predictable.
Users hesitated on the carousel, expecting visible arrows.
Added visible left & right arrows.
Users clicked card titles instead of the explicit button.
Expanded clickable areas across the card.
Clickable behavior varied across icons, titles, and cards.
Standardized hit zones for predictable interaction.
A tablet prototype link failed mid-task during testing.
Resolved missing prototype interactions.
Outcome & Reflection
Navigation became predictable, key actions became obvious, and users completed tasks with greater confidence. What began as a platform built around guessing became an experience users immediately understood.
Testing reinforced that small inconsistencies rarely feel small to users. Defining interaction standards earlier would have prevented friction from compounding across the experience.
- ✶Validate carousel controls with additional users
- ✶Explore event gallery expansion
- ✶Finalize stakeholder copy
- ✶Prepare developer handoff