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PEONY TRINH
#endHIVAbzyme Research Foundation
UX RESEARCH AND DESIGN
A Case Study
Peony Trinh | Lisa Passanante | Evan Schulman
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PEONY TRINH
The Abzyme Research Foundation (ARF) has
the mission of funding the development of a
revolutionary HIV vaccine that could potentially
change the course and impact of HIV/AIDS
globally.For the past year,ARF has been
collaborating with famous artists,musicians
and celebrities (Julianne Moore,Sia,Bob the
Drag Queen,to name a few) in advance of the
launch of its #endHIV campaign–an artful
showcase of awareness-raising videos and live
dance performances,including a social HIVBeats
video channel on YouTube (a collaboration with
GreaterThanAids).
BACKGROUND
Art meets science to fund
a potentical cure for HIV
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PEONY TRINH
TheexistingARFsiteisoutdated,sothiswas
largelya‘startfromscratch’project.Inourinitial
meetingwiththeclientteam,wediscovered
thatalthoughalotofthoughthadgoneintothe
brandingandfeelofthefuturesite,muchofthe
videofootageandsitecopywereeitherinpre-
orpost-productionandwelackedresearchand
knowledgeaboutthetargetaudience.
PROBLEM
Outdated site and lack of assets (copy,visuals)
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Alternatively,wefacedthechallengeofhowto
integratetheforthcomingartsandentertainment
contentwiththescientificbreakthroughatthe
heartofthecause.Althoughamaingoalofthe
campaignistotapintosocialmediaandextend
itsreachtoayoungerdemographic,wecouldnot
demotethescienceitself.Wehadtocapturethe
interest(andemails)ofyoungeraudiences,while
alsoconvertingawiderspectrumofdonorswho
needanassuranceofcharitylegitimacy.
PROBLEM
Conveying a scientific message with art and performance
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PROCESS
DISCOVER IDEATE ITERATE VALIDATETEST
•	 User Feedback
•	 Client meetings
•	 Development validation
•	 FinalPresentationandQ&A
•	 Comparative/
competitive analysis
•	 Business analysis
•	 Subject research
•	 Content audit
•	 Task analysis
•	 Surveys
•	 Interviews
•	 Design charrette
•	 Hand sketching
•	 Affinity diagram
•	 Journey map
•	 Site map
•	 Content strategy
•	 Task flows
•	 Parallel design
•	 Paper prototype
•	 A/B Testing
•	 Moderated Testing
•	 Remote usability testing
•	 Attitudinal research
•	 Behavioral observation
•	 Wireframes
•	 Prototype
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Team
LisaPassanante
EvanSchulman
PeonyTrinh
My Role
•	 Project  manager
•	 UIdesignandart
direction
•	 Wireframing/
prototyping
•	 Research
•	 Contentstrategy
Myteamprovidedthemissinguser-centered
designandresearchcomponentthatwould
instigatetheprojectfromtheinside-out.
Asprojectmanager,Isetupastrategywithplenty
oftimeforideationandtestingandstartedour
morningswithdailyscrums.Timeboxingour
iterationsessionshelped propelustowardtangible
deliverableswithinthetimeframe.Althoughthe
processwascollaborativethroughout,Iwasmainly
responsibleforthefinalUIdesignandprototype–
whichinthisscenarioalsorequiredartdirection
andcontentstrategybasedonexistingassets.
PROCESSMy Role
PEONY TRINH
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PEONY TRINH
RESEARCH
•	 Analysisofclientmission,historyandgoals
•	 Fact-findingcurrentstatsonHIV/AIDSandat-riskcommunities
•	 Contentauditofusefulcopyoncurrentsite,reports,articlesandother
resources
•	 Comparative/competitiveanalysisofHIV/AIDS-relatedfoundationsand
non-related,butsuccessfulnonprofitcampaigns
•	 Surveys-  Answerswerereceivedfrom74respondentsondonation
behaviorandwaystheystayinformedorinvolvethemselvesin
causes.Resultsweremappedtoseetrendsaboutwho,what,
where,whenandwhypeopledonate—leadingtothecreationof
ajourneymaptoillustratethestoryofhowdifferentusersengage
withthesite.
PROCESS
CAPTURING EMAILS/MAKING A PLEDGE
CAROUSEL DONATION HEADERS
POWERFUL INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC
WITH HUMAN CONNECTION
DONATION INSPIRATION
Discovery
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DesignCharrette:Earlyintheprocess,welead
adesignstudiowiththeclientteamwherewe
collectivelysketcheddesignsofthehomepage,
followedbyadiscussion.Sharingideasinthis
settinggaveusabetterunderstandingofeach
other’sobjectives.
PROCESSIdeate
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Charrettesynthesis:Charrettesketcheswere
usedasreferencetocreateuserflowsandto
definegroupingsforasitemapandcontentmap.
Myteamthenindividuallycreatedroughwires
ofthehomepageiterationstoexplorevarious
approachestocontentstrategy,whichwethenA/B
tested.Conveyingthescientificmessagewithout
confusingusersonthehomepageprovedtobea
primarychallengethroughouttheprocess.
PROCESSIdeate
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PROCESSIdeate
See
YouTube
link post
See
endHIV
link post
Watch in-app
mobile browser
Visit site via
in-app mobile
browser
Social Media to Site Action User Flow
Mobile
Interested? Visit endHIV.com Convinced?
Convinced?
Watch within
feed
Desktop
Interested? Visit endHIV.com Convinced?
Convinced?Visit endHIV.com
Take
Action
Take
Action
Take
Action
See
YouTube
link post
See
endHIV
link post
Take
Action
YES YES
YES YES
YES
YES
Drop-off
Drop-off
Drop-off
Drop-off
Drop-off
Drop-off
NO NO
NO NO
NO
NO
endHIV.com
Site Map
The
Science
The
Story
The
Videos
Donate FooterHome
Origin
Mission
Vision
Why
Captioned
Illustrations
How
Science Video
Link to White
Paper
Scientists
Clickable
summaries that
open a more
detailed bio
Key
Publications
Linked lists to
Published Papers
Amount
Personal Info
Payment Info
Other Ways
to Support
Tweet
FB Post
Email Signup
Contact Info
(text)
Social Media
(linked text or logos)
Disclaimer
(link to static page)
Privacy Policy
(link to static page)
About Us
(each links to static
page)
Our Story
Leadership
Advisory Board
Partners
Annual Report
Campaign
Video
Hostage
Video
FreeMe
Video
Science
Video
HIV Beats
Videos
Facts
Rotate with images
Timeline
Clickable summaries that
expand more details
Link to “The Science”
Join Us
Email Sign-up Form
Partnerships
Key Partner Logos and
Celeb faces
Campaign Video
Zach’s ask for donations
Artist Reference
Resources
(each links to static
page)
Scientific Publications
Press
Other Resources
Other
Relevant
Videos
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PEONY TRINH
PROCESSIdeate
TEAMITERATIONSV.1
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PROCESSTesting 11PROCESSTesting
Paperprototypetesting
We set up a paper prototype to test our parallel
design iterations with users—who were
interviewed prior to testing for attitudinal
research purposes.
Afewimportanttakeaways:
•	 Thewordabzymeonthehomepagewas
disconnectingusers-despiteattemptsto
simplifyitsexplanation(throughillustrations,
metaphors,etc.).Theworditselfinterruptedthe
flowofnavigatingthehomepage.
•	 Thedisparitybetweenthearts/videocontent
withthescientificcontentrequiredusto
exploredesignsthatwouldbridgethisgap.
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Several more rounds of user testing,subsequent
iterations and client meetings occurred in the
remaining weeks,adding in other primary
navigation pages: OurStory,TheScience,Videos,
and Donate.
In addition to moderated user testing,remote
usability testing (via usertesting.com) was
conducted which helped uncover content
ambiguity and and hesitancies in donor or
signup conversion.
PROCESSTesting
Final Deliverables
•	 Aninteractiveprototypeofaresponsivewebsite
thatsolvedkeychallenges
•	 Areportwithresearchfindingsand
documentation,annotatedwireframesofall
primarypages,contentchecklistandaguide
outliningproposednextstepsfor socialmedia,
emailmarketing,donorandcontent strategy
SOLUTON
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PEONY TRINH
The final design succeeds in pulling users’
interests with creative content while also
sufficiently informing them about the cause to
be pushed to action (donation or sign-up).
Final Deliverables
•	 Aninteractiveprototype
•	 Areportwithresearchfindingsand
documentation,annotatedwireframesofall
primarypages,contentchecklistandaguide
outliningproposednextstepsfor socialmedia,
emailmarketing,donorandcontent strategy
SOLUTON 14
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SOLUTON
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Feedback
•	 Testersoflateiterationsremarkedthatthesite
is“unique,warm,informative;”“exciting,artistic,
modern;”a“coolsocialmediacampaign”
•	 Usersunderstoodthecauseenoughtofeel
promptedtodonate,signuporsocialshare
•	 Thevisualdesignconsistentlyreceivedpositive
feedback.Ourteamsucceededintakingthe
clientteam’searlyroughideasaboutthe
‘brandingandfeel’ofthesiteandapplieditina
waythatcomplementedthescientificcause—
validatingthisthroughseveralroundsoftesting
toensurethemessagemadeanimpact.
SOLUTION
PEONY TRINH
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SOLUTON
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SOLUTON 18Links
PEONY TRINH
View Prototype View Research Report

#endHIV