Simplified navigation flows to help users better understand clinical trials and take confident next steps.
Overview
SHARE Cancer Support is a nonprofit organization that provides education, advocacy, and clinical trial resources to women affected by breast, ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers. As part of my graduate program in User-Centered Design at Brandeis University, I worked as the Content Designer and UX Researcher on a four-person team to improve the clarity and usability of the website’s clinical trial content and navigation.
Our goal was to reduce confusion and guide users toward relevant resources through clearer content and more intuitive navigation.
— PROJECT NAME
Improving Clinical Trial Flows
— ROLE
Graduate Student Content Designer & UX Researcher
— TEAM
3 Graduate Student UX Researchers & UX Designers, Professor
— DATE
01/2025 to 05/2025
— TOOLS
Figma • Mural • Slack • Google Forms • Zoom
— DELIVERABLES
User Testing Insights • Information Architecture Audit • Persona Boards • Navigation Redesign • Plain-Language UX Copy • Research Findings & Recommendations Presentation • Low-Fidelity Prototype
— HIGHLIGHTS
Boosted usability test task success from 60% to 90%
Before our redesign, users struggled to find what they needed or understand the complex medical language. The site had dense paragraphs with inconsistent information hierarchy, unexplained medical terms, and unclear navigation paths. Users often abandoned the flow before reaching trial matching tools.
SHARE Cancer Support needed a more intuitive experience with guided pathways to help users explore clinical trial options confidently.
Challenge: Help users understand clinical trials, determine eligibility, and navigate to relevant next steps without confusion.
Solution: I created a low-fidelity prototype of a redesigned user flow, reorganizing content and rewriting clinical trial copy using plain language to increase clarity and reduce cognitive load. Working closely with my team, we made iterative updates based on usability feedback and delivered recommendations for a structured navigation system, user-centered information hierarchy, and actionable content.
My Process
I worked closely with my teammates over Slack and Zoom to define each of our roles and responsibilities skill sets. We collaborated weekly to conduct user research, synthesize findings, design and test prototypes, and iterate based on insights.
What I did:
• Conducted usability testing to identify content confusion, navigation issues, and terminology barriers.
• Mapped user journeys to understand where users hesitated or dropped off when trying to learn about trials.
• Conducted a content audit to evaluate information hierarchy, identify duplicate content, and surface inconsistencies in terminology and messaging.
My Work
As the lead content designer and one of three UX researchers on the team, I focused on simplifying the experience while maintaining medical accuracy and empathy for users under stress.
Usability Testing to Reveal Friction
I collaborated with my team to conduct usability tests of the current website, which revealed major challenges in how clinical trial information was structured and written. Participants described the content as dense, confusing, and filled with jargon. They weren’t sure where to begin, how to determine eligibility, or what to do after finding a trial.
Key issues included:
- • Long blocks of text that made it difficult to skim or identify next steps
- • Complex terminology that alienated non-medical readers
- • A lack of clear hierarchy or visual cues to guide navigation
- • Inconsistent use of colors, fonts, and images that created visual noise and made pages hard to read
- • Links that opened in new windows without warning, interrupting user flow and creating confusion
- • Limited guidance to help users understand where to start or what to do next
SHARE Cancer Support’s homepage was cluttered and had too many navigation options. Users found it difficult to find clinical trial information.
User Research & Analysis
- I conducted remote interviews via Zoom with three participants who had searched for clinical trial information before.
- I then collaborated with my teammates to define user needs and goals, establishing clarity, accessibility, and reassurance as core design priorities.
Affinity Mapping in Mural
- Our team used Mural to organize interview insights through affinity mapping, identifying recurring themes like “poor readability”, “difficult to navigate”, and “too much information”.
User Persona Board
This persona represents women navigating triple-negative breast cancer who rely on trustworthy, easy-to-understand information to make treatment decisions.
I created it using insights from participant interviews and secondary research that included medical data, peer-reviewed journals, and publications on non-profits and UX design.
Grounding the persona in both lived experience and credible evidence helped the team empathize with users’ emotional and informational needs, and guided design decisions that prioritized clarity, trust, and accessibility.
Crazy 8s Sketches
This Crazy 8s exercise helped me quickly explore layout and content hierarchy ideas for the SHARE Cancer Support homepage. I focused on making key actions such as finding clinical trials, joining support groups, and subscribing for updates more visible and intuitive. By sketching multiple variations, I was able to test different ways to simplify navigation and organize high-value content.
Four-Panel Process Flow Sketches
I sketched this four-panel flow to show how users could move through finding and requesting support for clinical trials. Each panel highlights a key step: starting on the homepage, entering details, viewing results, and requesting a call for help. My goal was to simplify a complex process so users could take action with clarity and confidence.
Designing Guided Pathways
- Using my sketches as a starting point, I used Figma to design a low-fidelity prototype with buttons with intuitive labels such as, "Join a Support Group" and "Clinical Trials", that allowed users to complete the most common actions with ease.
I introduced instructional guidance throughout the flow such as “Is a Clinical Trial Right for Me?" and “Questions to Consider" and also included next steps once users found a relevant trial. Each step gave users context and a clear next action.
Content Redesign
- I rewrote clinical trial content based on our research findings using plain-language microcopy that guided users through each step. Information was grouped into stages to reduce overwhelm and help users navigate based on where they were in the process.
- I also introduced a simplified navigation menu, visual hierarchy, and instructional guidance to make complex details easier to scan and comprehend.
Testing & Iterative Updates
- I conducted usability testing, comparing the existing site to the redesigned prototype and iterated on structure, tone, and hierarchy until users consistently completed key tasks with ease.
Results
Impact
- Task completion for finding a relevant clinical trial increased from 60% to 90%.
Users spent more time exploring clinical trial pages and were less likely to leave after viewing only one screen.
Participants expressed higher confidence and satisfaction using the redesigned site.
Before
Dense paragraphs with inconsistent fonts and a lack of information hierarchy
Navigation system with an overwhelming amount of options
Users dropped off when trying to complete the clinical trial flow
Unclear next steps after learning about clinical trials
After
- Plain-language content with a structured information hierarchy and consistent use of font types to support readability and accessibility
Guided navigation with clear button labels and question-based entry points
Step-based eligibility explanation and decision support
Actionable content with links to support and trial discussions
Awards
- It’s Nice That
- AIGA
- Fonts In Use
- The Dieline
Contact
email@domain.com
000-000-000
This project reinforced my approach to content design rooted in clarity, empathy, and usability, showing how thoughtful structure and plain language can help users navigate complex topics with confidence.