Re-envisioning a legal website to better fit user needs.
EXPERIENCE STUDIO
SQUARESPACE
Context
Class Project
Role
UX Designer, Mentor
Tools
Figma, Squarespace
Duration
Jan - May 2025
(12 weeks)
MY CONTRIBUTIONS
Project Planning, Evaluations, Documentation & Mentorship
Project Planning
At the start of the semester, I led project planning to set our team up for success. We created a comprehensive Project Plan outlining goals, milestones, and timelines, and I also created a detailed Gantt chart in Google Sheets to keep the team organized and on track throughout the semester.
Heuristic Evaluations & Personas
During the research phase, I helped define our target users by creating detailed personas for each case type. I also co-developed the evaluation protocol and conducted heuristic evaluations to identify key usability issues and improvement opportunities.
Designs
I went through the full process of creating the Research Homepage and the Resources by Category pages. This started with ideation based on findings, and then I moved into Squarespace, and validated through testing.
Documentation
I co-led the documentation in this project. In this role, I assigned people sections of the documentation to work on, and edited each section to ensure it followed the narrative of our project. I also created the design system and graphics.
Mentorship
In our team, we had four underclassmen. I mentored one of the students throughout the semester by guiding her through activities, and giving her autonomy to carry out tasks on her own as I saw that she was ready.
THE PROBLEM
Litigants don't have access to the tools necessary to effectively represent themselves.
U Do It Legal (UDIL) is a legal firm that empowers self-representing litigants (SRLs) in California family law cases by providing accessible, attorney-vetted digital tools and legal information resources. Much of this is accomplished through their web application, where guided interviews and various resources take users through their cases and populate their court forms.
In this project, my team and I identified key usability and search engine optimization (SEO) problems within UDIL's free resources and eligibility quiz. We reviewed the layout, design, and content of the resource pages to assess both usability and effectiveness, while also noting potential gaps in coverage. Drawing on these findings, our team collaborated to redesign specific pages in Squarespace to improve clarity and accessibility for SRLs.
THE SOLUTION
A website redesign focused on intuitive navigation for users who don't know where to start.
RESOURCE HOMEPAGE
From our usability testing (explained in detail in the Process section below), we found that users often came to the site wanting to educate themselves but struggled to know where to begin.
As a team, we validated this insight through testing and comparative analysis, which led to the idea of a dedicated Resource Homepage.
I was responsible for designing and building this page, structuring UDIL’s large collection of resources into clear case categories so users could more easily navigate and access the information they needed.
RESOURCES BY CATEGORY
Building on the Resource Homepage, I also designed a reusable template for the different case type categories. These pages give users direct access to resources tailored to their specific case type, addressing the confusion we uncovered in testing.
To support different learning styles and stages of the legal process, I incorporated resources in multiple formats (such as guides, videos, and FAQs), ensuring the content was both accessible and adaptable to users’ needs.
The Process
01 RESEARCH
Understanding the Problem Space
02 DESIGN
Integrating Findings into the Platform
Once we had completed our research, we began to ideate how we could integrate our findings into our solution. We did this through team discussion, focused specifically on new pages or changes to current pages that could be beneficial
Key Insights
The site heavily emphasized one user case (spouse-to-spouse divorce) while neglecting others, creating gaps in accessibility. Users struggled to find and navigate free resources, suggesting the need for a central Resource Homepage.
Navigation issues also posed challenges for SEO discoverability, reinforcing the need for improved content organization and keyword integration. These insights directly shaped our design process and informed my work on creating the Resource Homepage and case type templates that improved clarity and access for users.
03 TESTING