The MRI Biophysics group is part of the Center of Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology at the NYU School of Medicine. The Department of Radiology is home to nearly 150 researchers and are one of the highest ranked radiology departments in the nation. Their research is focused on novel imaging based on advanced diffusion MRI methods and biophysical modeling. Their research is tailored towards exploring multiple tissues and organs. They strive to improve human health through medical imaging through developing new methods and tools to deliver better information to clinicians and scientists.
Lead UX/UI Designer
2 months
Figma
I was introduced to NYU Biophysics Group through my current client, JJ Studio. The radiology department was beginning to recruit new researchers to their lab and wanted a fresh website to showcase who they were and have a place for their publications. The main problem with their current website was an outdated user experience and lack in visual presentation. It was not working anymore.
I was brought on as the Lead UX Designer to create a new website and fresh "brand" to the department.
I conducted a discovery interview the Head of Research to learn about the scope of the project, requirements, and deliverable timeline. I needed to understand their website goals and any initial ideas.
The MRI Biophysics Group want to show who they are and what they do. They have a lot of talented and experienced members who have published research works. They also provide code and algorithms for researchers with links to their sources.
The goal of the website is to be informational and allow users to see what their lab has to offer. Currently, the website was bland and did not showcase the lab well. It was plain and lacked character.
Redesign the existing website and showcase each researcher with a profile page of their own.
List publications in a prominent place and allow people to explore.
Create a department "voice" with images, UI, and style.
The target audience for the website was broad, including:
The main goal of the website was to show who their researchers are and what publications and topics they have worked on
For the website design, I adopted a sleek and simple format incorporating their radiology department colors and images. The sections remained fairly short, with only the key information leading to other sections of the website.
For publications, I designed a simple infinite scroll list to feature all the publications.
The main takeaway from this project was adopting simple and clear design language that would help the research team understand. The research team were not familiar with the UX process, nor the steps involved. It was my duty to advocate for what steps I believed would help build a great, responsive website. Annotating my designs and signaling what to review helped during feedback sessions. I also made sure to provide actionable next steps and summaries after calls to make it smoother for the team to give feedback.