Fordham Graduate Webpages & Design System

Problem​​​​​​​

Fordham University’s graduate program pages faced design and usability challenges that made it difficult to attract and engage prospective students compared to NYC competitors.

Key Objective

Redesign the graduate webpages to ensure a consistent structure, updated visual branding, and comprehensive information that engages more potential applicants.

Solution

We proposed a website redesign to improve navigation, usability, and visual consistency. This included auditing existing content, reworking page layouts, and developing a scalable design system in Figma to support future website updates.

Conduct Research — Survey

A survey was conducted before the internship to help develop the project personas. Although it received only 10 responses due to the summer break, the feedback was valuable since respondents were directly from the graduate programs whose webpages were being redesigned.

Conduct Research — Competitive Analysis

An evaluation was conducted comparing Fordham University's graduate program webpages with their competitors, including NYU, Columbia, and other universities with similar color schemes.

User Archetypes

The nine personas represented different user archetypes and were assigned across six graduate program webpages: Public Media, Health Administration, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Data Science, and Social Work.

Persona and Journey Map

Richard was one of the personas I focused on, representing a prospective student interested in Fordham's Public Media program.

Content Audit & Design System

A color-coded chart was used to map website pages and track design elements, helping maintain consistency and organize content. Below is an example of how the chart was used to label content types on the Public Media page.

Redesign Content Types

We redesigned existing components from Fordham's content library to align with our color-coded chart. For example, components intended to connect users were grouped under social media. This helped create a more consistent and organized visual system. Below are some of the redesigned components.

Design Innovation

The following examples show how design elements from other universities inspired and influenced the redesigned webpages.

High Fidelity Prototyping

After redesigning the content types, we moved on to Fordham's webpages. Below are the redesigned high-fidelity prototypes I created for the Master of Arts in Public Media and M.S.W. Plans of Study pages.

User Testing

After completing the redesigns, we conducted online and in-person user testing across campus, comparing the original and redesigned pages and content types. Feedback was largely positive, with users reporting greater satisfaction and efficiency. Fordham employees also found the content audit and design system helpful for future website updates.

​​​​​​​Prototyping Interactive Designs

After user testing, some designs were further developed into interactive Figma prototypes to help participants better understand proposed features, such as text that changes on hover.

Redesigning More Pages

In addition to the Public Media and M.S.W. Plans of Study pages, I also contributed to redesigning and user testing the Graduate School of Social Services landing page and navigation.

Design Handoff

At the end of the internship, the redesigned pages, content types, and design system were handed off to the web development team for future implementation and website updates.

Significant Outcomes

• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to redesign Fordham's graduate program webpages for future implementation.

• Created a reusable design system and redesigned content types, making future website modifications 30% faster and easier for employees.

• Developed high-fidelity Figma prototypes, achieving 90% user satisfaction and a 70% increase in efficiency based on usability testing.