UCLA Extension
I led content strategy for a redesign of the UCLA Extension site, the university’s continuing education arm which served a population of working adults, people looking to advance their careers with degrees or certificates and retired adults or others who had the leisure to pursue classes just because they sounded interesting.
Our goal was to increase enrollment overall as well as expanding the number of courses individuals took, encouraging more to commit for a certificate rather than just one course.
I undertook a deep analysis of the current state and its challenges — rich course content was hidden, too many dead ends when courses were unavailable — which also unearthed a wealth of opportunities we revealed to the client with design.
The university had excellent course offerings but they were buried. Like many sites I've seen, the content was riddled with broken links, duplication, and dead-end "this course is not available now" messages where there could have been suggestions directing them to related offerings.
Collaborating with designers on wireframes and creating a sitemap, I prioritized the university's goals in creating a content hierarchy. Testimonials would convince skeptical, busy adults that the programs would be worth it. Metrics would attest to success. Color and images would make a dull site much more visually exciting.
