Bridging Dual Programs Through Information Architecture
NYU Stern Executive MBA website redesign
Project Details
Client
NYU Stern Executive MBA Admissions and Marketing team
Team
Myself; Customer Support Teammate (working with Swarm NYC)
Role
Freelance Product Designer
Methodology
Product Discovery (Competitive Analysis, Stakeholder interviews, Card-sorting, Journey Mapping), UX/UI Design, Implementation
Timeline
February 2024-April 2025
The Problem
NYU Stern's EMBA admissions site is meant to be an educational and decision-making resource, but early research brought in by the client told a different story. Prospects consistently struggled to find their way around it, from locating the right pages, to jumping between the New York City and Washington, D.C. programs, to surfacing basic program details once they arrived. Finding calendars, deadlines, and alumni was harder than it needed to be.
What I Did
Partnering with a Swarm teammate on client success and working directly with Stern's Admissions and Marketing team, I followed a modified double-diamond process—research synthesis, discovery workshops, card sorting, journey mapping, wireframes, high-fidelity design, and usability testing—to redesign the website's information architecture and streamline the user experience. I also worked with the Stern tech team to implement changes directly in Drupal.
Redesigned Navigation Map
Key Findings and What Changed
The Washington, D.C. program got consolidated and promoted
The Washington, D.C. program was siloed to a rarely visited sub-site that had duplicative content, undermining the "equal footing" both programs were meant to have.
A new domestic programs page was created as an entry point, letting prospects see key information upfront and quickly compare the New York City and Washington, D.C. programs. Core navigation was also streamlined to eliminate redundancies between the two programs, making it easier to move between them.
BEFORE Flow: Individual pages for NYC and Washington, D.C. with duplicative pages
AFTER Flow: New Domestic Executive MBA Programs Homepage (Entrypoint)
New Domestic Programs Homepage
Application steps were clarified
The application process read as an endless, hierarchy-less scroll, with no clear next step.
We rebuilt the page into organized accordion sections and added an informational video front and center, giving prospects a clear sense of what to do next.
Application page: BEFORE
Application page: AFTER
FAQs were divided by theme and relevance
FAQs were isolated to one page instead of living where prospects actually needed them, in the context of each section.
I separated questions by relevant content and placed them on applicable pages. They were restyled as accordions to save space and allow for quick reference.
FAQS: BEFORE on one page. Anchor links were used to jump to answers further down the page
FAQs: AFTER on applicable pages
Testimonials were added for social proof
The strongest driver of application conversions was prospects meeting current students, alumni and other prospects in person. These live events were an essential part of the process and provided social proof that the program fit prospective student's needs and allowed them to envision who their peers would be.
We placed photos and testimonials of alumni throughout the website to give hints of this social proof. It didn't replace live events, but it took prospects one step closer to learning if the program was right for them.
Impact
The new unified programs page and streamlined navigation made it easier to move between the Washington, DC program and the New York City one. And early post-implementation CTA engagement data came in equal across both programs.
FAQs were integrated into the pages where prospects actually needed them, and the application process was rebuilt from an endless scroll into clear sections outlining next steps. Translating in-person social proof throughout the site gave every visitor, not just those who made it to an event, some of the same reassurance that had been driving conversions.
What I Learned
Design ideas moved through Admissions & Marketing rather than directly to the tech team, which meant some approved designs didn't survive contact with Drupal limitations until late in the process—a course layout designed as a graphic had to become a simple table, and CTA button placement was dictated by the template rather than the ideal layout. Next time, I'd push harder to get a direct technical feasibility check earlier, even a lightweight one, rather than relying entirely on a single team's relay.