Tribal Health
Crafting the identity of a diverse healthcare corporation serving over 180,000 Tribal members from 228 Federally Recognized Tribes across the nation's largest state, supported by a team of over 3,000 dedicated employees.
Sector
Challenge
Todd's Role
Healthcare, Nonprofit, Alaska Native
The organization's branding and website need to be redesigned to better connect with its audience, including building a more intuitive information architecture and developing a singular visual language.
Information Architecture, Brand Design, Facilitation
Interviews & Surveys
As an initial step in the UX process, we engage in a comprehensive assessment of the current brand identity and perceptions by conducting a series of interviews and surveys.
This approach serves as a crucial baseline, enabling us to gauge the standing of existing brand ideas within both the community and among employees. Through structured interviews and meticulously crafted surveys, we seek insights from community members and employees alike. These interactions aim to capture a multifaceted understanding of how the brand is perceived, unveiling not only the external community's perspectives but also the internal sentiment among team members.
This concerted effort allows us to gather diverse viewpoints, laying the groundwork for informed and holistic strategies to refine and elevate the brand identity and user experience.
Information Architecture
In deciphering the information architecture, a meticulous process unfolded, beginning with a comprehensive content audit of the previous site. This audit involved compiling an exhaustive list of available information and functionalities, enabling us to collectively discern what to retain, what to discard, and how best to integrate content into a more streamlined and intuitive structure.
Subsequently, a collaborative effort ensued to develop a sitemap, a crucial step that factored in the defined proto-personas, their distinct needs, and the organizational objectives. This robust process took into account the corporation's extensive reach across Alaska, serving a widely diverse population through multifaceted health services encompassing training, health education, disease and injury prevention, and rural water and sewer construction.
Integrating solutions tailored to the diverse problems and motivations of the population contributed to a thoughtful and purpose-driven sitemap design that aligns with both user needs and organizational goals.
Wireframing, Prototyping & Usability-Testing
Continuing the UX journey, we transitioned into wireframing and prototyping, pivotal stages that set the foundation for refining the information structure.
Beginning with wireframes, we sketched out skeletal frameworks, outlining the site's layout and functionalities. This provided a visual guide, allowing us to iteratively refine and conceptualize the content's placement and user flow.
Moving to prototypes, we transformed these wireframes into interactive models, simulating the site's functionality. These prototypes underwent rigorous usability testing, a critical phase where user interaction and navigation were evaluated.
This meticulous process allowed us to uncover potential pain points and refine the user experience iteratively. Ultimately, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing collectively paved the way for a more polished and user-centric information structure, ensuring that the final product aligns seamlessly with user needs and expectations.
Visual Design
The creation of our brand's visual style involved a meticulous journey, starting with mood boards and style tiles, evolving through an iterative process into a comprehensive UI kit, culminating in the initial version of our style guide.
With a diverse audience, encompassing over 180,000 Tribal members from 228 Federally Recognized Tribes in Alaska, maintaining a balance was crucial. Our aim was to craft a refreshing, minimalist, and clean UI that bridged diverse artistic influences, particularly Alaska Native and American Indian art, without favoring any specific region or group.
The outcome was a deliberate approach—a minimalist, photo-centric style that visually showcased our rich and diverse background, opting to "show" rather than "tell" our unique cultural heritage.
Testing & Conversations
In our efforts to validate usability assumptions, A/B testing and click tests played a pivotal role. These quantitative methods substantiated most of our assumptions, offering valuable insights into the navigation structure on tablet and mobile, scrutinizing action-wording choices, and gauging preferences in visual design. While confirming the majority of our hypotheses, a few nuances surfaced.
To articulate these findings and educate leadership on our approach, we engaged in detailed conversations. These discussions not only highlighted the tested elements but also provided a comprehensive narrative, helping leadership understand the methodology behind our results and the rationale for recommended optimizations.
LEARNING
In hindsight, regularly involving leadership early in the incremental design process proves beneficial. This proactive engagement ensures a deeper understanding of the project's evolution, fosters ownership, and aligns goals effectively. It cultivates a transparent, collaborative environment, leading to well-informed decisions and collective buy-in at every design phase.