Designing a National Advocacy Engine:
Digital Design Transformation for America's Leading Universities
Association of American Universities (AAU) — an exclusive, invitation-only national association representing 71 of America’s leading public and private research universities.
AAU’s primary mandate is influencing federal policy and securing multi-billion-dollar research appropriations. However, their digital presence was actively hindering these efforts:
- The "Christmas Tree" Effect: The legacy site was buried under 6,200+ dead pages and a convoluted 223-item taxonomy that mirrored internal department silos rather than user needs.
- Hidden Critical Data: Time-crunched Capitol Hill staffers couldn't find crucial legislative data, forcing them to bypass the site entirely.
- The Member Portal Fallacy: Crucial advocacy talking points were locked behind a member login, creating massive friction for external policy influencers.
"Transform an inward-facing legacy website into a streamlined public advocacy engine that instantly equips time-crunched federal policymakers with the critical data needed to secure high value research funding."
In a climate with eroding public trust in higher education and science, AAU’s digital presence was actively hindering its advocacy efforts. AAU was at risk of losing its position as the definitive "Translator" of university research for federal policymakers
A global medical audience: Surveyed 400 members and interviewed 7 professionals ranging from Members-in-Training (MITs) to Retired Members across the US, UK, Australia, India, and Japan. Tree tested 86 participants, deliberately accounting for a 27% ESL (English as a Second Language) base.
Synthesis approach: Segmented research data by career stage (MIT vs. Regular Member) to isolate exact drop-off points in the user journey. Utilized line charts to visualize tree testing paths and identify where users became lost in the architecture.
Key Findings: Uncovered a massive "imposter syndrome" problem—members weren't avoiding committee applications because of the UI, but because the criteria felt too intimidating. Also proved via tree testing that users strongly associate "Funding Guides" with "Awards and Grants," not "Professional Development," shifting the entire site architecture.
Engineered a specialized tree testing methodology to specifically evaluate cognitive load and jargon comprehension for an international, highly scientific ESL audience.
Tree Testing Findings & Recommendations
Content Audit
New Sitemap
I completely overhauled the planned IA based on surprising data. I moved "Webinars" out of the "Education" section and into "Meetings and Events" because testing proved 40% of users conceptually associated webinars with calendar events. I also moved the "Funding Guide" into "Awards and Grants" after it completely failed in the "Professional Development" section (only an 11% success rate). Driven strictly by my Tree Testing data (86 participants, 13 tasks). I grouped all volunteer activities under a unified "Get Involved" CTA after testing showed a 93% success rate for that path.
Sitemapping
[Annotate: what this tested, what you learned from it]
Experience-based creation: Engineered a massive multi-site consolidation, unifying the main arvo.org, the ARVO Foundation, and the Annual Meeting site into a single, cohesive digital system.
Accessibility decisions: Designed for a 40% international, 27% ESL audience. Pushed back on the client's use of image-based buttons, explicitly recommending accessible HTML buttons to support screen readers.
Managed the UX transition from discovery to a 1,399-hour development phase, coordinating closely with the Director of UX, multiple front-end developers, and marketing strategists.
Homepage Wireframes
Homepage Visual Designs
I mentored and directed a support UX Designer during the massive 1,399-hour implementation phase, ensuring strict adherence to the UX strategy we established in discovery.
I made several unilateral architectural pivots based on data that contradicted client assumptions. I moved "Webinars" into "Meetings and Events" (because 40% of users viewed them as calendar events) and moved "Funding Guide" to "Awards and Grants" after it completely failed in the "Professional Development" section with only an 11% success rate.
- What would not have happened without me — The total re-architecture of ARVO’s digital presence from an "Annual Meeting-centric" model to a "holistic year-round career" model. I uncovered that early-career members were churning because they couldn't see the value outside the event.
- Original framework or model I developed — I engineered a highly specialized Tree Testing Methodology designed specifically to test cognitive load and scientific jargon comprehension for an audience that is 40% international and 27% ESL (English as a Second Language). I also built segmented Value Matrices mapping exact differences in needs between Members-in-Training (MIT) and Regular Members.
- I made several unilateral architectural pivots based on data that contradicted client assumptions. I moved "Webinars" into "Meetings and Events" (because 40% of users viewed them as calendar events) and moved "Funding Guide" to "Awards and Grants" after it completely failed in the "Professional Development" section with only an 11% success rate.
- Domain expertise applied — Scientific publishing UX, medical association membership models, and complex multi-site domain consolidation.
Before: A system that wasn't fully serving audiences and causing internal staff issues.
After: Created a consistent, welcoming experience for all levels of membership.
- Downstream reach — earchitected the digital hub for a global medical association serving vision researchers and ophthalmologists, directly impacting the experience of 12,000+ Annual Meeting attendees. Designed specifically for a highly global user base, accommodating a 40% international and 27% ESL (English as a Second Language) audience.
- Business outcome — Directly tackled a severe 50% membership turnover rate among early-career individuals (MITs) by redesigning the site to highlight year-round career value. Executed the massive 1,400-hour implementation phase.
- Accessibility — Removed inaccessible components to ensure strict ADA compliance for screen readers
"We are so impressed with the effort the MC team has put into collecting information to fully understand who ARVO is, who we represent, and how this website will benefit the industry we support. I have never worked with a company that cares enough to take this deep of a dive. It is truly refreshing and confirmed for us that we went with the right partner."
Following the successful delivery of the Research Findings & Strategic Brief in September 2024, ARVO trusted the strategic vision and immediately transitioned into a massive 1,399-hour Implementation phase (Nov 2024 - July 2025) to execute the proposed multi-site consolidation.
Led multiple high-level stakeholder presentations, including delivering the "Research Findings & Strategic Brief" deck and the "Tree Testing Insights & Sitemap" presentation to ARVO leadership.
I would restructure the internal QA and client review phases. On this project, we carried two distinct wireframe batches all the way through testing, which duplicated client handoffs and drove up project hours. In the future, I would execute batched internal QA but consolidate the client-facing QA into a single, unified review. I would also communicate earlier in the sales/scoping process that extensive tree testing requires directly contacting the client's member base to avoid client surprises.
What this changed in my practice
I experimented with a new content integration template early in the wireframing phase. While it presented challenges, it allowed us to uncover content gaps much sooner, profoundly changing my practice to integrate content collection directly into the early wireframe batches rather than waiting for design approval.
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