Redesigning the Geocaching.com header
Geocaching is a real-world, hide-and-seek adventure game that was founded in 2000.
My contributions
Collaboration with front-end, brand designer
Wireframing, visual design, rapid prototyping
Usability test, script, and screener writing
Redline documentation
Problem
How might we improve the Geocaching.com navigation?
The Geocaching.com website header design was showing its age. It was off-brand and no longer conformed to the product style guide.
Process
Our yearly usability benchmarking highlighted some specific problems with the current header:
A double-ribbon layout taking up a lot of real estate and causing unnecessary navigation collapse for tablet users (representing 12% of users).
A “Learn” section with confusing content for players
A difficult-to-find Geocaching Help Center
Taking these issues into consideration, it was time to begin iterating towards a future vision.
Before the redesign
Scope
The scope of this project was a first step towards larger information architecture improvements for the site. The goals were to simplify the design, refactor the code, and connect players with help.
Competitive analysis
To start, I looked at how competitors addressed their main navigation and header designs. Design patterns began to quickly emerge and it became apparent that an expandable profile menu may help users easily locate help and access their account information.
Competitive analysis
Iteration
Next, I sought stakeholder feedback on brand-alignment and front-end feasibility. Once a design direction had been agreed upon, I began iterations focusing on responsive web and localization length of the most visited pages. An audit of the supported languages revealed which combinations of elements and user settings were the “worst case” scenario in terms of string length. This information helped me decide which elements went into the overflow menu and when.
Validation
Once the design proved feasible, I created a prototype and conducted usability testing on the discoverability of major features. I ran remote usability testing with 5 players from each of the following user groups: new users, novice players, and advanced users. The tests did not uncover any major usability issues.
After the redesign
Response and future considerations
Upon validation, the new design was launched in late 2017. This was a large visual change on a mature product and, aside from comments about the color being too bright, was well-received by the geocaching community. The release was quickly followed with similar style updates to the Geocaching Blog and Geocaching Shop.
My recommendations for future consideration include:
A more thorough information architecture realignment focused on cross-platform usage and Premium features
An investigation into the feasibility and usability of a universal search bar