MHNSC Redesign: Senior Capstone Project
Designed a high-fidelity website redesign focused on improving information architecture, simplifying language, and enhancing visual hierarchy.
UI/UX
Project Overview
Timeline: August 2025- May 2026 (~36 weeks)
Course: SI407: Advanced Design
My Role: Lead UX Designer / Researcher
Team: Angel Nguyen, Nina Wang, Tanya Mirza, Nethra Vijayakumar
Tools used: Figma, Miro, Canva, Google Sites, Sheets
Slideshow Presentation | Original Site | Redesign
Overview
The Michigan Healthy Nail Salon Cooperative (MHNSC) provides critical health and safety resources for nail salon workers and owners. However, usability barriers in the current website limit its effectiveness as a trusted and accessible resource.
Through a mixed-methods research approach, including usability testing, card sorting, and surveys, we identified key issues in navigation, content accessibility, and information clarity. Users struggled to locate critical resources, experienced confusion due to unclear categorization, and found text-heavy content difficult to engage with, particularly for individuals with varying levels of English proficiency.
In response, we designed a high-fidelity website redesign focused on improving information architecture, simplifying language, and enhancing visual hierarchy. Evaluation results indicate that the redesign improved usability, increased user confidence, and enhanced perceived professionalism and trustworthiness. However, challenges remain in the discoverability of specific resources, such as podcasts and specialized content.
Problem and Context
Nail salon workers face ongoing exposure to harmful chemicals and occupational hazards, yet access to clear, usable health and safety information remains limited. The MHNSC website serves as a central resource for this information, but current usability issues reduce its effectiveness. Our research identified a core problem:
Users lack a reliable and intuitive way to locate, understand, and engage with critical health and safety resources on the MHNSC website.
Key contributing challenges include:
Misalignment between site structure and user expectations
Dense, text-heavy content that limits comprehension
Difficulty locating key resources and contact pathways
Limited support for multilingual and culturally diverse users
These barriers reduce trust, engagement, and overall impact of the platform.
Research Findings
We used a sequential mixed-method approach, card sorting, usability testing, and a survey, to gather qualitative and quantitative insights from participants in or affiliated with the nail salon industry.
Recruitment & Participant Demographics for All Stages - Research & Evaluation
We recruited participants through family, student organizations, and friends. Participants were recruited within a narrow age range of 21–25 years old, representing young adult users. They also all had prior experience with nail salon environments, making them relevant to the MHNSC context. While this helped ensure informed feedback grounded in real familiarity with salon services, it also reflects a relatively specific user group that may not fully represent a broader audience.
Since our participants were a specific demographic mostly consisting of individuals in minority groups, we were limited to 3-4 participants for any rounds. To ensure transparency throughout this report, we do not claim percentages of participants when presenting data, and rather give exact fractions or average ratings to reduce bias. We focused on qualitative insights, as we are unable to claim insights as statistically significant without a larger sample size.
Site Map- Link to Site Maps
Research Insight 1: Navigation Does Not Align with User Mental Models
Users frequently relied on trial-and-error to locate information, often navigating multiple incorrect paths before completing tasks. Card sorting revealed that while top-level categories were recognizable, the internal organization of content did not match user expectations.
Users consistently expected:
Clear grouping of related content (e.g., a “safety hub”)
More intuitive categorization within sections
Image of "Resources" Page
Research Insight 2: Language and Content Create Barriers to Understanding
Participants reported difficulty engaging with dense text and unfamiliar terminology. Jargon and long paragraphs created barriers, particularly for users with limited English proficiency.
Users demonstrated a strong preference for:
Simplified language
Visual and scannable content (icons, headings, chunked text)
Image of "Salon Safety" Page
Research Insight 3: Lack of Clear Contact Pathways Reduces Trust
All participants struggled to locate direct contact information for key individuals, relying instead on general forms with low confidence. This lack of clarity undermined trust and limited the site’s effectiveness as a credible resource.
Image of "Contact Us" page
Design Artifacts
User Personas- Link to view
User Journey Map- Link to View
Design Requirements
Based on these insights, we established the following requirements:
Must Have:
Reorganize navigation to align with user mental models
Simplify all content using plain language
Provide clear and accessible contact pathways
Should Have:
Use intuitive, non-technical labels
Prioritize visual and scannable content formats
Nice to Have:
Incorporate culturally representative visuals and examples
Design Solution
We developed a high-fidelity redesign within Google Sites, focusing on usability, accessibility, and clarity. The design emphasizes structured navigation, simplified content, and improved visual hierarchy while remaining feasible within platform constraints.
Homepage
Salon Safety Page
The “Salon Safety” page was reorganized and redesigned to improve clarity and translation.
Resources Page
About Page and Footer
Key Changes:
1. Reorganized Information Architecture
We restructured navigation to better reflect user expectations by grouping related content and reducing ambiguity in category labels. This minimized trial-and-error navigation and improved task efficiency.
2. Simplified and Chunked Content
Content was rewritten using plain language and reorganized into smaller, digestible sections. Headings, icons, and spacing were used to support scanning behavior and reduce cognitive load.
3. Enhanced Visual Hierarchy
We introduced clearer visual structure through consistent layouts, whitespace, and emphasis on key information. Users were able to identify relevant content more quickly without reading full text blocks.
4. Improved Accessibility and Inclusivity
Design decisions prioritized readability and multilingual accessibility, ensuring that users with varying levels of English proficiency could engage with content more effectively.
Evaluation and Validation
We conducted a within-subjects usability study in which participants interacted with both the original MHNSC website and the redesigned version. Sessions included task-based testing, think-aloud protocols, and preference testing style interviews.
While statistical significance was not achieved due to a small sample size, consistent qualitative feedback and directional improvements indicate that the redesign enhances usability and user experience.
Key Findings
1. Improved Usability and Confidence
Participants reported higher confidence when completing tasks on the redesigned site. On average, confidence scores increased from 6.67 to 7.50.
2. Enhanced Navigation and Organization
Users found the redesigned structure more intuitive, with clearer pathways and reduced confusion when locating key information.
3. Increased Perceived Professionalism and Trust
Participants consistently described the redesigned site as more polished and credible, indicating that visual design played a significant role in trust perception.
Relative Improvement
Remaining Challenges in Resource Discoverability
However, a remaining challenge is the discoverability of specific content such as podcasts and specialized resources, which were still hard for users to locate, even if they are able to find general resources. Overall, the redesign demonstrates improvement in usability test performance, but minor refinements must be made for completely optimal navigation.
This highlights a need for clearer categorization and dedicated navigation pathways. Further implementation and testing can improve this, but the site is more accessibility focused than before, and we encourage our client to publish this version while continuing to make improvements.
Final Recommendations
Further Evaluation
Conduct usability testing with a larger and more diverse participant pool
Explore A/B testing to validate specific design decisions
Include users with varying levels of English proficiency
Design Refinements
Introduce subcategories within existing sections
Improve labeling for specialized content (e.g., podcasts)
Further refine information hierarchy for dense resource pages
Implementation & Integration
Continue development within Google Sites constraints
Establish a content management strategy for ongoing updates
Ensure consistency in language, structure, and design across all pages
Conclusion
This project demonstrates that improving usability, accessibility, and content clarity can significantly enhance the effectiveness of digital health resources. By aligning the MHNSC website with user needs and expectations, the redesign increases engagement, trust, and usability for the nail salon community.
While further refinement and testing are recommended, this work provides a strong foundation for implementation and long-term impact.
Appendix
Recruitment Email
Research Consent Form
Card Sorting Activity
MHNSC Survey
Interview Guide
Initial (Round 1-2): MHNSC Usability Testing Outline
Evaluation (Round 3):MHNSC Usability Testing Outline (2.0).docx
Usability Testing Data
Separated by each round and participant, features signed consent forms, transcripts, audio, and video recordings of each usability test.
Activity Tracking Sheets
Participant Tracker: Research Activity Tracker
MHNSC Affinity Diagram
Accessibility Audit
Recruitment flyer
