BSBI WEBSITE

Two mobile phones displaying an app called 'Enquire Now,' showing images and information about studying abroad in Berlin, including a cityscape photo with a tram and a section about applications and visa info.
Webpage screenshot with orange background, titled 'Content', listing questions about studying abroad in Berlin, and an 'Overview' section explaining Berlin as a top study destination.
Screenshot of a webpage with four sections showing diverse students and professionals, featuring topics on studying abroad, studying in Berlin, interviewing Markus Beckdahl, and career opportunities after a marketing degree.
Mobile phone screen displaying a website with articles about managing money at university, starting a business, studying in Berlin, and career options after a marketing degree.

RESEARCH

  1. Define users’ motivations, needs and frustrations when enquiring about courses on the website.

  2. Understand what makes a student experience satisfying.

  3. Understand industry standards and what features/services/offerings give BSBI a competitive edge in Berlin, Germany.

  4. Identify areas of improvement for the current website.

Comparison of two educational institutions' branding and website strengths, featuring Gisma Business School and Otto Beisheim School of Management, with text outlining their competencies and weaknesses.

  • Working from my secondary research, I analysed some of BSBI’s competitors in the education industry. 

    I uncovered the strengths and weaknesses of the business's direct competitors GISMA and Otto Beisheim School of Management.

  • First, I conducted secondary research to familiarise myself with the national and local business colleges. I collected information from articles and case studies on trends, challenges and areas for growth to identify industry standards and user expectations.

  • Empathising with the target audience is a crucial step in the design thinking process. Therefore, it was essential to go out in the field and interact with real customers. I spent a day at BSBI chatting with students about their motivations, needs and frustrations while studying whilst also gathering information on how interactive they found the website. 

    Research assumptions:

    • Customers expect enquiry options on a college website.

    • Customers care about the values of the college.

    • Affordability and quality are the most important factors for students when choosing where to develop their careers.

    • Customers choose BSBI for its affordability and its base in Berlin.

    Clustering interview responses allowed me to discover trends and patterns from which insights could be constructed. Through this process I identified several user needs:

    • Customers need to know that BSBI sells high quality products.

    • Customers need engagement with the company and its employees.

    • Customers need to see the unique identity and brand of the company.

    Customers need to know they’ll find what they’re looking for on the BSBI website.

  • Next, I used all of the qualitative data I gathered during the research process to create Arjun, my persona. Arjun spent his childhood living in many countries and cultivated a passion for marketing. He seeks to find the perfect MA to improve his career as a Marketing Director.

Image of a college student profile for Arjun Patel, including a biography, goals, challenges, resource requirements, decision-making process, and a portrait of him.

DEFINE & IDEATE

After wrapping up primary research, I dug deeper into the insights I had generated. First, I restructured my findings from the POV statements into an actionable problem statement that defines the design challenge. Next, I restructured those POV statements into ‘how might we’ questions that would generate solution-oriented brainstorming.

Table with four columns titled Insights, Needs, POV, HMW, and four rows of text discussing student perceptions and needs regarding BSBI's high-quality courses and branding.
Venn diagram comparing business goals, user goals, and shared features, with examples in each section.

Now that I had empathised with the target users and identified their needs, I needed to define the solution. I reflected on the business goals, user goals and technical considerations to find a happy medium for all stakeholders. Once I had identified common areas, I could decide what product features were necessary for the prototype.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Table outlining priorities and features for a website, including goals, product information, search functions, and metrics for tracking engagement.

I created a high-level list of site features to further define and guide the vision for the product. Prioritising the features with supporting research created a clear order of execution.

Interaction Design

I completed a task flow and user flow to imagine the ways a user might navigate through the site to achieve their goals. These tools allowed me to ensure that the information was organised in a way that is intuitive to the user.

Flowchart showing steps to find a Business Administration course and start the application process, including Home, course pages, filters, course types, inquiries, and contact details.

TEST

  • I created a low-fidelity prototype of the desktop site in XD. I created a UI requirements document to outline all of the features and elements I wanted to incorporate into the design.

  • At this point in the design process, I needed to think about how I wanted the site to look on different screen sizes. It was essential that the website could be presented as well on a mobile device as it could when in desktop size. I created responsive wireframes for BSBI’s key pages and began to flesh them out.

Diagram of multiple webpage layouts for a website, including home, courses, generic, blog, contact, search, thank you, 404 pages, and a landing page, with preview thumbnails of each.