The Bush Center is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Museum, which is operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, and the George W. Bush Institute.

My role

I led the brand direction, user experience, creating the design system and designs that enabled the team to meet the launch deadline while also identifying core issues and developing improved solutions.

scope

Brand redesign Responsive website

Process

Information Architecture UX / UI Design Prototyping and User Testing Iteration

Objective

This site houses a wide combination of content and the main question we considered throughout the process is how can we improve accessibility?

A responsive website that organizes a plethora of archived and evergreen content while also updating the brand to be more contemporary.

UX CHallenges

early challenges that we kept in mind during the project

• The client team expressed having difficulty in creating new layouts that was compatible within the current design system. Naming blocks accurately and clearly within the CMS so as to be easily understood by non-tech client team. • The previous branding had felt dated and restrictive.

• We also had to keep in mind that the site be easy to use for the client team in curating their own content through the CMS.

My design process

Understanding the sector of interest and its users through research.

Revealing the user, their needs, and their problems.

Generating solutions to the problems that the user is facing.

Building out best ideas and iterating based on real user feedback.

01. Empathize

Online galleries are getting creative with including VR and 3D tours of exhibitions. However, this implementation requires allocated budget for technology and a digital strategy which more historical institutions may not be equipped to adapt to.

Curate existing library of resources in an easy to digest way. Adding valuable information like behind the scenes, rare footage, and transcribing old interviews adds additional context to the in-person experience.

Museums are providing other means of educational materials to retain membership in a post-pandemic world. Embracing digital learning tools and providing hybrid courses for teachers and classes.

An expected trend for museums is to engage with visitors through an app. Where educational resources, lectures and popular programs, and curated digital tours users can enjoy from the comfort of their homes.

I sought individuals with experience visiting the Bush Institute specifically. I ended up interviewing five participants that represented their donor community and the center's staff who have public facing roles. Through hearing each one speak, I was truly able to generate empathy for the user.

I started this project by completing secondary research so I could uncover existing information about Presidential Centers and the Bush Institute specifically. The methods I used were market research and a competitor analysis. Below are a few key findings that I uncovered.

02. Define

With interviews finished, it was time understand the new information I discovered. However, before digging too deeply, I transcribed each user interview so that recurring insights would inform my decision-making.

"I enjoy seeing historic artifacts and want to know the who, where, and when it was created."

Users will seek out related resources.

"I almost didn't go to the Freedom Matters exhibit because of my schedule, but decided to go for Brian Kilmeade's book signing."

When there is enough incentive (combining multiple events) users will feel that their time is well-allocated.

"I enjoy bringing my family to the docent led tours because it's well organized and is engaging for my children.

Users want content to be accessible for all ages.

"I will wander around and stop when something captures my attention."

Users need the flexibility to understand the exhibit on their terms.

03. ideate

Based on the insights that emerged earlier as I created my empathy map, a series of "How might we...?" questions were established.

For each question, I listed as many potential answers I could based on what design patterns already exist on other apps, as well as anything that simply came to mind. Once I completed the mind map, I prioritized all ideas according to the goals of the project .This helped me gauge which ones made the most sense to pursue and later design.

Wireframes are developed in Miro for easy team collaboration and fast revisions before diving into high-fidelity. Questions from front-end and back-end developers are addressed and meeting client business goals help drive improvements.

04. Validate

The navigation went through many cycles of revision. Incorporating stakeholder needs, designs underwent user testing to ensure that we were designing a system that also met user needs. User testing was conducted to test several navigation flows. Users were tasked with the following questions:

User testing was conducted to test several navigation flows. Users were tasked with the following questions: • How would you learn more about the Veteran Leadership Program? • You're interested in buying tickets to see the presidential center, where would you be able to buy tickets? • Can you access the latest article of the Catalyst? • Where would you learn more about the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries? • Where would learn about the Bush Institute’s position on immigration? ‍

Navigation 1

Navigation 2

Navigation 3

• People are having a difficult time finding specific programs. • Confusion over the distinction of 'Our Work' and 'The Bush Institute'. • If what users are looking for is exposed as a topic in the main nav, they will readily find it. • The 'Topics' menu label was too vague and confused people.

1. Expose child pages in mega-menu for clearer scan-ability. 2. Use label 'Our Work' for its purpose is is more widely understood then institution name. 3. Provide robust menu drop-downs that serve as an index to the many articles and resources available. 4. Change 'Topics' to something more specific like Current News, World Affairs, or Latest Events.

My observation, using the right language so people can readily understand is a huge consideration that me as the designer has to advocate for. The right language doesn't necessarily mean using the 'approved' label that the internal client team is familiar with, but finding the appropriate language so the average consumer can also easily comprehend.

The navigation and dropdown menu was prioritized to solve the following: • Establish awareness for subsidiary organization, The George W. Bush Institute. • Bring current news events to the forefront to be accessed immediately. • Feature current articles and podcasts. • Have citizen resources clearly organized and easy to find. ‍ My observation, using the right language so people can readily understand is a huge consideration that me as the designer has to advocate for. The right language doesn't necessarily mean using the 'approved' label that the internal client team is familiar with, but finding the appropriate language so the average consumer can also easily comprehend.

Mobile Navigation

The Solution

My research uncovered that users are interested in engaging with content that provides the full experience. I sought to enhance this by incorporating related content for further exploring that was supporting their interests.

From the Home Screen a user can view current events, articles, as well as read more about upcoming exhibitions. Slight layout differences between these types allow users to easily distinguish one type from another.

Filter media by type, category, topic, and date-range for easy location-finding and browsing. Utilizing progressive disclosure, the main category tab is expanded on default and secondary tabs are minimized to not overwhelm the user.

A project goal is to create this as a robust and helpful resource for users. I prioritized the organizational layout so the text could be easily read and additional topics, resources were included so browsing could occur more easily.

Primary goal

some considerations that we had to balance throughout the project

• Delivering stakeholders needs while prioritizing user-testing for better usability performance. • Naming CMS blocks accurately and clearly so as to be easily understood by non-tech client team. • Revitalizing the brand design system with color palette and typography that were contemporary and establishing a more flexible design system that can allow for a variety of page layouts depending on the content.

The Brand

There are so many media types to access from podcasts to Veteran's mental health resources, that is why we created a brand that could represent each of those elements. One part academic and another part conversational, this brand draws from the United States flag—amplified for impact.

Design system - The brand guide had elements for every use-case to give the bush institute the tools they needed to keep fresh over time.