The St. Columba’s website caters to three distinct audiences: families of prospective pupils; families of current pupils; and former pupils eager
to maintain their connection with the school. Therefore, it must function as both a digital marketing touchpoint and a communal meeting point, providing parents with the latest parish notices and upcoming events.
Whilst initial UJ wireframes had already been developed for the CURZON project before my involvement – only really requiring the usual
UX/UI finessing that you would expect as the project unfolded – the St. Columba’s website project offered a blank canvas. This allowed
me to be involved from start to finish, beginning with discovery and client workshops, advancing through UX/UI, and ultimately creating multiple detailed UI visuals for client discussion and approval.
My goal was to put a very simple face on an exceedingly complex back-end, which was a crucial resource for the day-to-day planning of so many families lives. With time being a precious commodity for these families, I focused on providing only the essential information on each page, and drew on Heuristics principles. I further ensured a UCD experience by leveraging Prägnanz psychology and elements of Gestalt Theory such as Proximity and Similarity, as well as maintaining strict control of Visual Hierarchy.
The end result was a well sign-posted website which delivered tailored information in easily digestible chunks, offering abundant information without overwhelming the user.
This project was a valuable UJ/UX/UI learning experience for me, and one that I found particularly rewarding.
