In summer 2022, we used a 5-second test to understand what caught a person’s attention and what they could remember after looking at a piece of content for a short time. In this post, I reflect on the lessons my team and I learned conducting this research as part of the fees payment project.

We’ve been using an analytics and feedback tool, Hotjar, on our beta pages of the new undergraduate degree profiles. The insight mirrors what we saw in earlier usability testing, so we’re implementing design changes to address issues.

On 13 December 2023, we hosted an update event on the progress our team has made in designing the new postgraduate taught page template for the new degree finder. This post gives a summary of the event, with access to the event slides and recording.

We’re recruiting a content designer to join us in improving the prospective student experience at the University of Edinburgh. Applications close Monday 15 January 2024.

Earlier this year, we collaborated with admissions colleagues to design a new presentation for entry requirements in the undergraduate degree finder. In this post, I share the different iterations we designed and how testing with students informed our design decisions.

Last year we worked with Finance to redevelop their registration form for the payment of tuition fees. As part of that work, we had to find the routes to the form and update the corresponding web content.

We have a fixed-term opportunity to join our team and develop your skills in content design. This position would suit someone with a couple of years’ relevant experience. Applications deadline: 22 May 2023.

In our work to create a content model for the future of undergraduate degree provision, we had to find a way to visually present the model information from an initial spreadsheet. Here’s how I created this visualisation, our content model schema, and how we presented it to the University community at an event last December.

Over summer 2022, we worked with the Finance team to improve content on how students pay tuition fees. From August to October 2021 to the same period in 2022, the team saw a 75% drop in enquiries in the content area we were focusing on.

In this post, I recap the experience of conducting online usability testing for our project with the Student Immigration Service (SIS) and share some lessons we learned about the importance of testing before a site goes live.