Website Redesign

Company
San Diego Convention Center – a 2.6 million square foot facility located along the waterfront in downtown San Diego, hosting conventions, trade shows and community events. 

Role
Visual & UX Designer

Deliverables
Project Management, Design Research, Content Strategy, UX Strategy, Digital Accessibility, Responsive Web Design

Business & Marketing Goals
Establish Brand Authority, Lead Generation, Increase Brand Credibility

Background

The San Diego Convention Center’s (SDCC) previous redesign served as a visual facelift and was not based in any research.

As the SDCC's Visual & UX Designer, I led the organization through the user experience design process to create a website that is usable, accessible, consistent and rooted in user research.

Research & Discovery

Because the SDCC had never conducted user research, I led the team through a significant amount of qualitative and quantitative research to test the assumptions made about users over the years. Research and analysis included:

  • Interviews with various user types, including meeting planners, exhibitors, staff and attendees

  • Website survey with 1,000+ submissions, asking users to identify their user type and task

  • Competitive research for benchmarking

  • Digital analytics for quantitative behavioral analysis

  • Affinity diagramming workshop to organize and understand data

  • User persona development to create empathy and avoid designing for all edge cases

Website user survey – the modal window survey was delivered to each unique visitor one time, with a 3-second time delay.

Content Design

My approach prioritized content before design. With the help of the Communications team, we reviewed every piece of content on the website to be in line with user needs. Content design methods included:

  • Content audit to inventory current website

  • Content modeling to create a finite amount of page types in order to maintain consistency

  • Card sorting with staff to understand industry terminology and how to group content according to mental models

  • Creation of voice and tone standards, along with content principles

  • Information architecture and creation of a site map

  • User flow workshops to validate information architecture

Affinity diagramming workshop with the team

Card sorting session

Wireframes & Mockups

I designed wireframes, mockups and prototypes. Mockups were tested with a group of internal users before moving to final visual design.

Given the pandemic and the shift to remote work, I used cloud tools and virtual meetings to collaborate on copy and present designs for feedback.

Design & 
Hand-Off

The website was designed and developed to meet Level AA Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). While the SDCC is not required to follow WCAG guidelines, I believe that digital accessibility is both the right thing to do and makes the experience better for everyone.

I handed off the design files, assets, content and specs to our external web developer, keeping a close line of communication during the development process.

Impact

Because it was the height of the COVID pandemic, the website was not launched until the SDCC reopened for business the following year. The feedback I’ve heard from the current team is that the website is easier to navigate, the visuals match the vibrant energy of the SDCC and the content meets the needs of it’s varied users.