CASE STUDY
Increased engagement time by 45% on a data-driven tool congratulating inclusive filmmakers and creators
Data-driven research findings showcased on a digestible website.
TIMELINE
Mar 2024 - Aug 2025
ROLE
Product Manager, UX Designer
CLIENT
Adobe
LOCATION
Los Angeles
Project Overview
Annually, publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Elle, or Time announce a list of individuals in entertainment whose work has influenced or impacted the wider industry or even the world. There is little information provided about the criteria used to determine who should be named. As a result, it is difficult to gain a sense of the true impact each person has had—and whether their inclusion on the list is due to the power of their work, how well-known they are to the publication, or if the person has an exceptional publicist to put them forward.
The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative partnered with Adobe to showcase research findings in an easily consumable website, highlighting the people, projects, and companies championing inclusion in entertainment based on data.
This case study outlines UI/UX improvements I made based on user sessions data, showcasing my strategy to increase engagement time and highlight the people making inclusive hiring decisions.
My Role
I led the design and user testing of the project from end to end. I collaborated with 2 developers and oversaw 1 UX assistant throughout the project. I also hired the data collection team and oversaw the data collection process end-to-end.
The Problem
According to Google Analytics data, The Inclusion List websites have the largest number of sessions and users on their respective Home pages. There is a significant drop off in sessions and users from the Home page to the remaining pages on each site. This is not ideal since we want to highlight the specific people, films, and companies that made the list.
Site organization could be more user-friendly
Poor site organization contributes to difficulty in finding award categories and leads to excessive page length on some pages.
Sessions drop significantly from the landing page to other pages
This is not ideal since we want to highlight the specific people, films, and companies that made the list.
Data visualization is static and limited
Data is visualized in static pngs which is not sustainable for adjusted data metrics for future award years.
Goal
Shed light on how the industry has changed and which categories have improved through an easily digestible and accessible website.
Solution & Impact
The website received press from various news outlets such as Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, Fortune, and more. Average engagement time increased by 45%.
To address the challenges, I conceptualized a new process
We conducted a heuristic evaluation to analyze pros and cons of current competitor award websites.
Understanding the film and television landscape
To visually understand the connections in the entertainment industry, I researched top United States media companies that create films series. Various parent companies, originators, studios, distributors, production companies, networks were listed.
Analyzing site data to understand user sessions
I analyzed past google analytics data from a previous version launch to see the ratio of user sessions on each page to determine the most advantageous order of awards on the site.
Producers were the most popular, followed by projects (films and series) and then companies.
Crazy 8's and Lofi Wireframes
After, I did a Crazy 8’s sketching exercise to brainstorm different home page layouts. Then, I bookmarked three sketches and developed them into lo-fi wireframes.
To align with industry standards for awards lists and reduce drop-off, I chose a "jump-to" wireframe that kept users engaged on a single page.
Wireflow
I then created a wireflow showcasing this version, with awardees featured directly on the landing page.
Reordering the website structure for more engagement
To increase sessions and user engagement with the people, projects, and companies recognized, I displayed all awardees directly on the Home page. This approach mirrors the format of successful awards lists like Forbes, Time, and Business Insider, while also ensuring the awardees are prominently highlighted.
Prototype for usability test
I created a high-fidelity prototype to gain insights.
Usability testing revealed that data vis miscommunicates message
User interview quote: “Looking at the scores, I feel like they are failing”. I dove deeper into that statement and discovered that the appearance of a low score and the red color makes the gauge chart look like it’s communicating a negative message.
Data Visualization
I changed the data visualization to include an average to show the success of the films, people, or studios on our list. The comparison provides context. I also applied colors and fonts of our reports to be recognizable to our followers and create a seamless brand experience.
Displaying Honorees
User explained that the photo was too small and not very engaging. There was also a lot of long, white space on each accordion. I opted for stills from each series as the cover photo and created uniform square cards.
Landing Page
To reduce click off rate, I kept the content of interest on the landing page. According to Google Analytics data, people were most interested in the people on the list, so I ordered them first.
Card Biographies
Our goal is to collectively celebrate all a that made the inclusion list, and not incite competition between them, so we got rid of the rankings.
I also added arrows to easily navigate between films and people’s detail pages without having to close the detail pages and then re-opening another.
Solution & Impact
The website received press from various news outlets such as Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, Fortune, and more. Average engagement time increased by 45%.