Awareness Through Usability: The Poseidon Project
User Testing
Heuristics Evalution
Usability Testing

Increasing Awareness Through Digital Experiences

Product description:
The Poseidon Project raises awareness about the environmental impact of industrial fish farming. It offers articles, studies, and videos for researchers, environmentalists, and the public, aiming to promote sustainable practices and inspire action to protect our oceans and ecosystems.
Goal: Evaluate and address usability issues to improve the learning and research experience for users interested in fish farming, including newcomers and experts.

‍Role: UI/UX Designer, Researcher, Visual Designer
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Tools: Figma, PanelFox
SKIP TO THE GOOD PART
METHODOLOGY

Where the Experience Breaks Down

Goals

Evaluate if users understand the Poseidon Project, its content, and how to engage with it.
Assess how easily users, especially researchers, can find the information and resources they need.
Assess how easily users, especially researchers, can find the information and resources they need.

Qualitative Research

Six participants underwent moderated user testing sessions to understand the issues they face when using the Poseidon website. A few sample questions include:
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1. What do you know about how the fish we eat is caught or farmed?
2. What aspect of fish farming are you most interested in learning about?
3. What tools or features on the website helped you find the information you were looking for?
4. Overall, do you think this is a useful website for learning about fish farming? Why or why not?
TEST RESULTS

What Did We Find

Users were confused by the page titles and their purpose, making it hard to navigate.
Users needed a simpler, more intuitive flow and clearer instructions.
The search process on the "Research" page was too complicated and difficult for users.

Affinity Map

This affinity map organizes user feedback from a UI/UX testing session into six key themes:
Mismatched Expectations for Page Names: Users were confused by vague labels like "Campaigns & Coalitions" and "Register," suggesting more descriptive names and clearer explanations.
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High Content Density: The content felt too text-heavy and difficult to digest, though some users found it informative.
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Confusing Search Methods: Users noted the absence of a visible search bar, expressed a preference for filters/tags, and recommended improving quick search visibility.
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Disrupted Flow Between Pages: Participants wanted clearer page connections, a more intuitive information hierarchy, and more interactive features for better engagement.
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Unrelated Featured Content: While users liked the featured content, they suggested including current news/results and improving the clarity of certain features, like maps.
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Positive Insights: Articles and featured content were appreciated for being interesting and informative.
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Heuristic Evaluation

The heuristic evaluation identifies usability issues, categorized by the violated heuristics and their severity ratings (1-5, with 5 being the highest).
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RECOMMENDATION I

Restructured Navigation Bar

To better support the user journey, the navigation menu was restructured to reflect two stages of the average user journey when inquiring about the Posedion Project. The navigation bar was reorganized to support two distinct user flows: exploratory and investigative.
  • Exploratory users follow a logical path from an overview ("Get the Facts") to research ("Start Research") and conclude with a summary ("Deep Dive"), allowing them to build a comprehensive understanding.
  • Investigative users are guided to explore campaigns ("Campaigns and Coalition"), learn about the mission ("About"), and discover opportunities to get involved ("Join Us").
"Join Us" was visually emphasized at the end to highlight its role as a call to action and encourage user engagement.
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Improvement Insights

Users easily navigated between exploration and investigation.
Improved content understanding through a structured journey.
Increased Interaction with Chevron Buttons
RECOMMENDATION II

From Brief to Deep

The "Briefs" page was renamed "Deep Dive" to better reflect its purpose of providing an in-depth exploration of curated content. A carousel format was introduced to display fewer cards at once, reducing visual clutter. Buttons were updated to chevrons to signal interactivity and encourage engagement. Content was organized by topic to make it easier for users to navigate and discover related materials.
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Improvement Insights

Clarified Purpose with "Deep Dive"
Carousel Format for Simplicity
Increased Interaction with Chevron Buttons
Visual Emphasis on "Join Us"
TAKEAWAYS

What We Achieved

The PoseidonProject by the Rauch Foundation shares important information about the environmental impact of carnivorous fish farming.

After testing the website with real users, we found three main problems:
  • Too much text that was hard to read
  • A confusing search and navigation experience
  • Unclear page names that made it hard to know what each section was for
We made the content easier to scan, improved the way users search and move through the site, and gave pages clearer names.

‍The result: Visitors can now find information faster and understand it more easily. Researchers can get to the resources they need without frustration, and everyday users feel more confident exploring the site. These changes helped the site better support its mission—educating people and encouraging action to protect ocean health.

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