REDESIGN OF DASHBOARD FOR GRANTIUM FUNDING APPLICANTS

Arts Council England facilitates various funding programmes for individuals and organisations in the United Kingdom, processing these through Grantium their application portal.
It is normal to seek support in writing an ACE application however submitting an application should be straightforward, familiar and accessible to all.
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OVERVIEW

TIMELINE

  • 4 HOURS

PROJECT

  • DESIGN CHALLENGE

SOLE DESIGNER

  • UX DESIGNER

DELIVERABLES

  • COMPETITOR ANALYSIS, WEBSITE ANALYSIS, USER GROUPS, USER JOURNEYS, WIREFRAMES.

This project aims to create an intuitive dashboard that allows users to navigate the Arts Council England Grantium portal with ease.
AS IS - CURRENT DESIGN

GRANTIUM

FRONT OFFICE PORTAL

PAIN POINTS

TEXT HEAVY

Lots of text explaining what should be a simple process. This is summed up with initial text advising that users read the guidance notes on how to use the portal.

TIMING OF ADVICE

The portal is trying to give everything at once. Instead it would be good if advice is on the screen when a user is moving through the corresponding part of the application. This could then work in tandem and avoid overloading.

DISTRACTING LINKS

The text on the portal page has lots of hyperlinks. This means users are moving away from this page which can be avoided instead by walking users through applications step-by-step and providing information appropriately.

UPDATING ACCOUNT

A user is only able to update email and password on their account page. Any other changes they are required to create a new applicant and this takes up to 5 days to be approved.

MENU WORDING

The wording in the menu could be made less confusing. Using Home or Dashboard instead of Front Office Portal would be better. Clear word choice for Applicants and Submission would be useful so users know where to find what they need.

CONFUSING NAVIGATION

The current navigation works for those who know where to find the information. However it is not a familiar or intuitive layout.
USER FLOW

CUSTOMER JOURNEY

CORE USERS

AS THIS WAS A DESIGN CHALLENGE I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO CREATE IN DEPTH PERSONAS. I STILL NEEDED TO CONSIDER WHAT USERS EXPECTED SO I CREATED THREE CORE USERS TO FOCUS THE REDESIGN AROUND.

EXPERIENCED

  • This portal is used by some creatives on a regular basis. They apply for funding for various projects and require an efficient platform that does not require undue attention to submit applications effectively.

NOVICE

  • The portal is used by many creatives who have not applied before or do so infrequently.


  • They require a platform that is intuitive and easy to understand.

ACCESSIBILITY

  • As with many industries application processes are required to be accessible to all. The site needs to have options for people with any disability to access the information and submit applications effectively.
RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING THE USERS
RESEARCH

RESEARCH STEPS TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND THE USERS

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  • User Flow

    I started initially by considering how users visit the portal and what their experience would be.

  • Information Hierarchy

    Currently there is little consideration to importance of information on the portal. I chose to prioritise New and Existing applications followed by up to date information about Open Programmes.

DESK RESEARCH

Building a dashboard for this portal I researched Creative Scotland and also Curator Space which both have portals for artist applications and funding information. I also researched dashboard layouts.
IDEATE

LOFI WIREFRAMES

PAPER AND DIGITAL WIREFRAMES

I STARTED WITH PENCIL AND PAPER JUST MOCKING UP QUICK IDEAS REGARDING LAYOUT AND HOW INFORMATION COULD BE LAID OUT. THIS ALLOWED ME TO WORK FAST WITHOUT HAVING TO BE TOO PRECIOUS.

THESE ROUGH PAPER LAYOUTS WERE ALLOWED ME TO CREATE SOME SIMPLE LOFI DIGITAL WIREFRAMES IN FIGMA.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

IN THIS DESIGN CHALLENGE I WASN'T ABLE TO SOLVE EVERYTHING SO FOCUSED ON A FEW RULES TO STRUCTURE THE NEW DASHBOARD.

PERSONALISED FEEL

With a dashboard there is opportunity to create a personalised feel to the portal. Adding applicants name to the salutation and letting them know they have an application still to complete.

EASY ACCESS CTA'S

CTAs are front and centre in the dashboard especially for the two main processes, New and completing Existing applications.

PACING THE DELIVERY OF INFO TO AVOID OVERLOAD

Funding programmes displayed in the centre of the dashboard breaks up the CTAs with information that can prompt an action. Instead of hiding these details.

Reduced Text

I have chosen to remove the majority of the text that currently exists on the Front Office Portal. On the new dashboard I have simplfied the navigation and allowed those that are computer literate and anyone who has used similar account pages to navigate without need to read additional guidance notes.

Guidance is still available through the Help and Contact menu pages. I believe by making the portal intuitive I can reduce unnecessary issues being raised with the help desk. This will allow better communication with those users who still require additional help due to less call volume.
Prototype

INITIAL DESIGN TO TEST

LESSONS LEARNT

This design challenge was done over an afternoon. The short timeframe meant I had to move quickly whilst also considering what tools would help me create a dashboard that benefited users of different abilities and needs.

Level of simplification

Creating a dashboard made me consider how much a user needs to still complete tasks. Yes making it clean and clear however reminding myself that a user is here to complete certain actions.

I believe testing would highlight areas that require better understanding of how a user navigates a simplified dashboard.

Design system

With this challenge I used simple rules from Atlassian design system to guide me. It made me realise how important a system can be to aid the structure and consistency of a design.

This dashboard is really a portal in the sense it will lead to other pages so having a DS will really help a user move through any process if this system is applied throughout.


Critique

This design was critiqued and like with any UX review there were positives and negatives. The main two areas to address were edit functionality, whilst this looks tidy it might require better sign posting for all users.

Words used for submissions and applications could be confusing so testing this to see what works best would be essential.

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