Portfolio
Design Teaching Resources:
User Research & Content Strategy for Design Educators
Overview
The purpose of this project is to create a great online resource of design education activities for university educators. These activities are focused on design awareness and design thinking.
I've designed and refined curriculum using user-centered design principles, focusing on meeting educators where they are.
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*Note: This case study documents the 2023 design and development process. The platform underwent a comprehensive redesign in late 2025 with updated visual design and information architecture. Screenshots shown reflect the 2023 implementation.
Role
UX Designer & Researcher
Timeline
June - September 2023 (4 months)
Challenge
Create accessible online teaching resources for time-constrained educators
Users
Design educators and Engineering educators
Key Outcomes
✓ Challenged assumptions through interviews with 8 professors across institutions
✓ Designed and tested 22 teaching and workshop pages incorporating 7 task observations
✓ Identified post-pandemic shift in educator needs (hybrid materials)
✓ Created 3 major content collections with mix-and-match customization
The Challenge
How might we create an online teaching resource that is uncomplicated and compelling for time-constrained educators?
Process
User Research - Challenging my assumptions
What I assumed:
Educators follow structured curricula from textbooks and formal guides.
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What I learned:
Through a focus group with 8 engineering professors across different institutions, I discovered:
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Time is the critical constraint — Educators juggle teaching, research, and admin work
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Materials are shared organically — Conference hallway chats, live demos, and professional networks (NOT textbooks)
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Flexibility is essential — One-size-fits-all doesn't work across different institutions and class structures
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This fundamentally shifted my approach to content design.
Prototyping - A "simple" activity?
I began prototyping one activity page called "What Counts as Design?" — but quickly realized the complexity:
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One activity became 8 interconnected screens
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Needed to feel embedded in larger website (not isolated)
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Had to transform raw lecture materials into streamlined web content
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Key decision: Create realistic, clickable prototypes for user testing rather than static mockups.
User Testing - The impact of remote learning
I created a virtual version and an in-person version for “What Counts as Design”, wanting to see whether this would be useful for our users. After creating a comprehensive user testing protocol geared towards educators, I recruited and facilitated user testing with two university instructors and an undergraduate education major. The user testing feedback was very positive (quotes shown). In particular, these educators resonated with having both virtual and in-person instructions. This taught me how remote learning had transformed educators’ user experience as they search for learning materials.
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One educator wanted more tips and advice, such as a how-to guide for the website. I kept this in mind for the rest of my prototyping.
“With hybrid teaching after the pandemic, I like that there’s options to do both physically and virtually.”
This is great! It directly dives into reasons why you should do this activity, then the necessary materials and steps.
Content Strategy - 3 collections
Now came the bulk of the work. After discussing with my professor what her priorities were, I needed to begin prototyping two big activity collections. The first one, “Good Designers do ‘X’” is a crowdsourced resource on good design behaviors. Next, “Capturing Design Signatures” is a program of activities on understanding and analyzing your own design process.
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In order to keep track of the large amount of content I had to handle, I took advantage of project management boards and lots of memos. Through discussions with other professors, it became clear that users would benefit from us splitting “Capturing Design Signatures” into two collections: one collection of methods to capture design processes, and another collection of team projects that those methods could be used on. Users get the ability to mix and match and customize their activities.
Leveraging the User Journey
I learned from my user testing participants that it was important to consider the contexts that educators come to our activities with. Teachers and professors feel incredibly overloaded in their jobs, so it's important to provide as much guidance and transitional steps as possible.
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I incorporated this into my user flow diagram, and implemented more transitional steps on the website so that educators feel comfortably and sequentially guided from the top level down to the singular activity.
Conference Validation
I had the incredible opportunity to attend the American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) conference in June 2024, where our team presented our materials and the website at a workshop and Dr. Atman’s distinguished lecture. There, I got a pivotal moment of insight into meeting the user where they are.
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My experience at the conference highlighted the power of direct user engagement. Coming full circle, I was now part of those hallway conversations. I got to meet educators from around the world, and they responded with genuine enthusiasm. Seeing how dozens of people connected with our resources reinforced the importance not just of creating the products, but of connecting with the user.
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Following ASEE, our team continued presenting at FIE, FYEE, and the upcoming KEEN conference.
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Impact
Delivered:
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22 teaching and workshop pages
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User-tested with 7+ participants
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Presented at 4 national conferences (ASEE, FIE, FYEE, KEEN)
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Cross-institutional adoption (UW, Stanford)
Reflections
What I learned about user research:
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Challenge your assumptions early — What seems obvious often isn't
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Context shapes needs — The pandemic fundamentally changed educator workflows
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Flexibility > prescriptiveness — Give users building blocks, not rigid instructions
What I learned about content strategy:
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Transformation is hard work — Raw materials ≠ web-ready content
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Guidance reduces cognitive load — Overloaded users need clear paths
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Test early and often — User feedback prevented major missteps
This project taught me to lead with empathy, stay curious about user contexts, and design systems that empower rather than constrain.