China Education Symposium, established in 2010, is an official student organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Check out the current website >
About This Case
Role
Digital Consultant
UX Researcher
UI Designer
Administrator
Tools
Adobe Photoshop
Figma
Squarespace
Cloudflare
Methodology
Adopted agile project management.
Created web management guidelines.
Migrated to a more supportive hosting service.
Built and trained an agile team.
Used UX research to redesign and maintain the website.
Duration
2017 - Present
*Previous extensions for the site, hard to maintain and not a unity solution for the organization (CES 2017)
Problems & Obstacles
Content Management | Ineffective system.
Navigation | Difficult to use.
Errors | 404s and broken links.
SEO | Poor content and optimization.
Design | No guidelines, unclear CTAs.
Responsiveness | Not mobile-friendly.
Maintenance | High upkeep, unskilled admin.
Learning Curve | Steep learning required.
Security | Outdated extensions.
“Finding details on past symposiums is tough. The site loads slowly, and I’m unsure what actions I can take.”
— Anonymous User 1
“The site is hard to read with excessive bold and highlighted text. It doesn’t seem like an official site.”
— Anonymous User 2
HGSE Community | Faculty, staff, students, stakeholders.
General Public | Individuals interested in education in China or education in general.
Format | 15 questions (10–15 minutes) covering user info, site usage, and feedback on the original website.
Location | Harvard Graduate School of Education - Gutman Library.
Distribution | 3 days per week (2 weekdays, 1 weekend), with time slots at 9:00–10:00 AM, 4:00–5:00 PM, and 8:00–9:00 PM.
Sample Size | 20 participants (students, faculty, staff, general public).
Privacy | Data anonymized, shared internally, and discarded within 2 months after the site rebuild.
Conclusions & User Feedback
Lack of Organization | The site lacked structure and clarity.
Poor Readability | Low-quality pages hindered user interaction.
Broken Links | Many links/buttons were unresponsive or misdirected.
Leadership Turnover | Frequent leadership changes led to poor site maintenance.
Platform Issues | WordPress, though powerful, required too much maintenance for this organization.
Redesign Objectives
Responsive Design | Optimized for modern devices.
Improved Navigation | Clear menu bar with color indicators for current page.
Consistent Design | Strong IA with clear calls to action.
Internal Library | Organize past symposium information effectively.
Maintenance Guidelines | Provide clear guidelines for future team members.
Sitemap & Wireframe
Simple Structure | Easy-to-navigate site with a clean navigation bar.
Consistent Layout | Uniform column system across pages.
Archived Content | Use hidden pages and folders for organization.
Effective CTAs | Eye-catching calls to action.
Modular Homepage | Designed to funnel users efficiently.
*Ruby Red and White icons mades good consistant brand image and visual connection between Harvard community and China.
UI Principle & Design System
Simplicity & Consistency | Clean, consistent UI design.
Hero Images | Used with color treatment to enhance storytelling without sacrificing readability.
Scalable Icons | Appropriate icons to boost engagement and scalability.
Color Scheme | Ruby red as the primary color, symbolizing strength and tradition, connecting Harvard’s brand with China.
Content Management
Streamlined Content | Reorganize pages using IA for clarity.
User-Friendly | Enable users to quickly access key information and clear CTAs.
Site Maintenance
Student-Managed | Maintained by current HGSE students.
Guidelines | Established maintenance guide for smooth onboarding.
Focus on Content | New hosting service handles technical issues, allowing the team to focus on content.
