What's the Problem?
Despite being one of the most active student organizations on campus, the AIS website had a cluttered and uninspiring layout that overwhelmed users and failed to reflect the club’s energy—discouraging deeper engagement.
What's the Goal?
Redesign the website to reflect AIS’s mission and vibrancy—by improving usability, modernizing the design, and encouraging more student interaction, membership applications, and event participation.
AIS Mission
Framing the Mission: Make AI Approachable, Events Visible, and Joining Effortless
After syncing with AIS leadership, we focused on 3 goals:
Make AI feel exciting and beginner-friendly
Increase participation in events
Create a bold, inviting digital presence
This wasn’t just about design—it was about building trust and connection.
User Research: summary
Methods:
1/ User interviews
2/ User personas
3/ User journey mapping
4/ Competitive analysis
Key Findings:
New users visit the site to understand what AIS is and how to get involved
“I want to know what this organization actually does before I commit to anything”
Returning users look up event details and explore membership/officer opportunities
"I just need to quickly check if that workshop is still happening this week"
Conclusion:
The current website's confusing layout and poor information architecture prevent both user groups from completing their goals, reducing overall engagement with AIS.
User Research: Pain Points
Where Users Hit Roadblocks
1
Non-Functional Interactive Elements
Users expect interactive elements to function.
2
Confusing Visual Hierarchy
Poor visual cues mislead users about what elements are clickable versus informational.
3
Inadequate Call-to-Action Design
Poor CTA sizing and placement reduces conversion potential and makes key actions less discoverable.
4
Event Card Layout Issues
The disorganized event card layout forces users to work harder to process information.
5
Text-Heavy Design
The absence of visual elements creates cognitive overload and reduces user engagement with the content.
User persona & user journey map
Sarah — The Motivated AI Explorer
Sarah is a busy CS-major UTD student who needs a clear and intuitive way to explore AIS opportunities because she feels overwhelmed by the current website’s layout and struggles to find events that fit her goals and interests.
To-Be User Journey Map
I created a To-Be user journey map of Sarah's experience finding and attending an AIS event to identify pain points and uncover opportunities for a smoother, more engaging user flow.
Competitive Analysis
Looking Outward: What Top Sites Get Right
We benchmarked high-performing student org sites and saw consistent patterns:
Simple navigation
Clear event info
Strong brand identity
Obvious calls to action
How might we
From Problems to Possibilities
Instead of jumping into solutions, I translated frustrations into “How Might We” questions:
Ideation & Wireframing
Design in Action: Wireframes, Testing, and Iteration
Key Moves:
Prioritized key features: events, joining, and visual clarity
Final design
Final Design Highlights
Events Page
Splits into Upcoming and Past sections using a clean grid layout
Emphasizes key details: time, location, RSVP links
Join Page
Clear calls to action for different user types (new incomers, officer applicants, AI Mentorship applicants)
Results
Measurable Wins
CTR increased from <20% to 40%
(confirmed by officer feedback)
Impressions doubled
(confirmed by officer feedback)
Higher event turnout!
(confirmed by officer feedback)
Reflection
What I Learned
Translate abstract goals into tangible UX decisions
Balance stakeholder needs with user outcomes
Lead design with both empathy and strategy
What’s Next?
If given the chance to take this project even further, I would:
Run usability tests with more users
A/B test the Join CTA
Build a modular design system for scalability
This Wouldn’t Exist Without Them!
None of this would’ve been possible without the incredible team I worked with. I’m beyond grateful to have collaborated with such talented and supportive people who brought this project to life together :)
