Redesigning the user journey:
A structural Design audit to improve access to the Arts at a top-tier public research university
Executed a highly technical heuristic, structural, and WCAG accessibility audit, resulting in critical strategic optimizations delivered successfully.
As Lead UX Designer, I unblocked critical revenue pipelines for Virginia Tech’s Center for the Arts by translating a deep technical and heuristic audit into a centralized digital style guide, restructuring hidden user journeys to drive ticket sales and donations.
Driving sustainable arts funding and community enrichment: fixing the purchase and donation flows directly impacts the center's financial viability and its ability to bring world-class art to the region.
Stakeholder landscape: Bridging the gap between strict, overarching university (Virginia Tech) brand guidelines and the distinct, visually-driven needs of a consumer-facing arts center.
Who I researched: The user journeys through the current website of target users and also mapping their journeys via competitor analysis (students, community members, donors).
Novel or adapted methods: Blended highly technical developer diagnostics (HTTP/2 usage, DOM complexity, LCP analysis) directly into the UX heuristic review to prove how backend code was actively destroying the frontend user experience.
Findings that surprised stakeholders: Stunned leadership by revealing that their highest-converting action—purchasing tickets—was hidden three scrolls deep on the desktop site. Furthermore, a readability analysis proved their "History" page required a 14.25 reading grade level, with one single sentence spiking to an incomprehensible 26.08 grade level, placing an immense cognitive burden on everyday ticket buyers.
Content Audit
Who I researched: The user journeys through the current website of target users and also mapping their journeys via competitor analysis (students, community members, donors).
Novel or adapted methods: Blended highly technical developer diagnostics (HTTP/2 usage, DOM complexity, LCP analysis) directly into the UX heuristic review to prove how backend code was actively destroying the frontend user experience.
Findings that surprised stakeholders: Stunned leadership by revealing that their highest-converting action—purchasing tickets—was hidden three scrolls deep on the desktop site. Furthermore, a readability analysis proved their "History" page required a 14.25 reading grade level, with one single sentence spiking to an incomprehensible 26.08 grade level, placing an immense cognitive burden on everyday ticket buyers.
This entire engagement was an exercise in expert UX judgment. I conducted a highly technical Expert Website Review, rigorously judging the previous agency's work and the client's current platform against WCAG accessibility standards, technical performance metrics (LCP, DOM complexity), readability standards, and UX heuristics.
Presented the "Expert Website Review" deck to the Center for the Arts leadership, guiding them through a prioritized severity matrix (High, Medium, Low) and providing actionable roadmaps for digital remediation.
Presenting to the stakeholders.
While the technical performance and WCAG audits were incredibly deep, I would have spent more time explicitly defining a roadmap for how the client should execute the fixes with their internal development team, factoring in their specific university technology constraints.
What this changed in my practice
This project taught me to look beyond UX heuristics and evaluate the friction between traditional brand guidelines and digital realities.