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"How do I find a course that's right for me?"
AIAS has been delivering career and vocational training in health and wellbeing since 1974. The institute revolves around the departments of Allied Health, Massage and Beauty. Their courses are designed with career outcomes in mind with flexible delivery options - online or campus experiences with students of many ages enrolling. This website is scheduled to go live at the end of March 2016.
AIAS Design
MY ROLE
This project took place in late 2015, where I contributed as the sole UX / UI Designer.
I wanted to create a website where potential students could easily find the course that would make them qualified for their dream career.
I was responsible for leading requirement & ideation workshops with clients, user research, creating personas/archetypes, wireframes, prototyping, information architecture, content strategy, art direction, testing and UI design.
Discovery
Business Requirements
Research
Persona / Archetype
Analytics
Design
Sketching
Wireframing
Prototype
Validation
User Testing
Amends
UI Design
Visual Design
Usability Review
My Role
CASE STUDIES
Through research, I wanted to be able to answer the main pain points personas had when choosing a course at AIAS
How long is it going to take me to get this qualification and start working?
I’m not so good with technology, will studying Online be a good option for me?
I need a flexible study schedule so I can be with my young children
I need a provider number for legitimacy and security of my practice
I like to research all aspects of the course before committing even including specific units and skills
I don’t know which course will be right for me.
Do I need any previous qualifications to be able to study?
Case Studies
AIAS Homepage
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Homepage
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A homepage is a gateway to a site’s content and dishes the first taste of what a website offers. A visitor may leave in seconds if the website doesn't impress - so the homepage must deliver the primary message quickly.
The first panel is an opportunity for the user to jump off and find the courses they are looking for: Beauty, Allied Health and Massage
The department names are colour coded so a user can scan a page easily to find content that is relevant to them. This colour code is consistent throughout the website, so the user always knows what department they are immersed in.
In a usability study, Gerry McGovern discovered that only 1 out of 15 users could locate a specific piece of information that was not scannable on a page.
As departments like “Allied Health” pathways are not common knowledge, popular pathways are listed to help the user find their correct department
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One of the main ways to engage a user on the benefits, is through story telling. I used a long scrolling website format. Long scrolling offers unique opportunities for story telling that page-by-page navigation can’t match.
The technique gives the user more control over pacing and the continual immersion avoids the detrimental lag between pages. This tactic is geared towards discoverability.
The story's information hierarchy was determined by the user's concerns and pain points discovered from the personas and research.
Why Study With Us - for personas who want to know credentials of the school
Flexible Learning Options - main concern for personas is how will study fit in with my current commitments
Learning from the Best - does this institution have credible and knowledgeable teachers
Testimonial - a personal account of the benefits in attending the school
Life at AIAS - an overarching description of the benefits in attending the school via video. Easily digestible information that creates an emotional response from the user. They will be able to imagine themselves going to the school
Latest News - Detail of events and news within the school that the user can experience if they enroll
Come for a Visit - Inviting potential students to get a first hand experience of the school through different avenues: Open Day, Campus Tour or Virtual Tour
Contact Us - Now the user is potentially interested, the contact details are available to them
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By placing icons in the mega menu made the information scannable. It also makes the choices seem easy.
The paradox of choice argues that eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for users.
Improving the web scan-ability and readability of text led to a 124% improvement in content capture.
Course Filter Page
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Discovered from research, most of AIAS persona’s main goal is not to attend university, but obtain a job or a certification. In the Department of Allied Health, for example - the job possibilities vary from Dietitian to Lifestyle Co-ordinator. In addition to location, study option and academic level - Career Path was added to the filter. Potential students can search for course derived from their job goals.
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Using research from personas, information that a potential student would like to know initially - brief course summary, time investment, start dates and government subsidies was added in the course card.
For scannability, icons were used to make the information simple and easy to use.
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Course Detail Page
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The 2nd level navigation is a sticky. Research indicates that they are 22% quicker to use, as users are able to find what they were looking for faster when they don’t have to scroll back to the top of the page and dig through the website, to find the information they want. The categories are based on the research.
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The users are greeted with a summary of the course in a cards format. Cards are an effective medium in communicating quick stories. Allowing for minimal information that are a great teaser for detailed information. Each topic is supported by an icon for quick scannability.
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Accordions have been used heavily in the page, as when there are too much information displayed all at once - this can overwhelm the user. Accordions give the user access to all of the information in digestible chunks, without requiring scrolling.
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Tabs have been implemented when the user needs to compare information.
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The story’s information hierarchy was determined by the user's concerns and pain points discovered from the personas:
Overview - Allows the user to know immediately if this course fits into their basic requirements
What is this course about - A more detailed description of the the purpose of the course. Is the course right for them?
What will I accomplish with this course? - Confirms to the user that the course will get them their dream career
Study Options - This helps the user make a decision on what type of learning is best for them. Online gives the flexibility of when they’ll learn or they can choose the structure and culture of a campus experience.
What you’ll learn - This gives the user a more detailed description on what they will be learning
Testimonial - A first hand experience of their peers
Key Dates - This will help the user visualise how the course will fit into their daily schedule
FAQ - An area to answer questions that may not fit into the “story” such as - Recognition of Prior Learning
Apply Now - If the course ticks all the boxes, then the user has the opportunity to apply.
Contact Us - If they have further questions they can contact the school.
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AIAS Course Filter
Course Detail Page
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