Reimagining Templates for User Experience
Audience: Middle and Upper School Students and Teachers
Responsibilities: UX Research and Design, Instructional Design
Tools Used: Miro, Instructure Canvas, HTML, XML, C Programming, Wireframing
Research: JSTOR, Cognitive Science, Visual Perception, Process of Reading
Understanding Project Scope
Redesign and optimize Canvas LMS templates to enhance usability, efficiency, and aesthetics, ensuring clear structure, intuitive navigation, and plug-and-play functionality for diverse course needs.
While the current design is simple and uncluttered, it lacks a structured schema, well-defined interacting elements, and clear stages of interaction to guide users effectively.
Currently, the template relies heavily on letter-wise processing, requiring users to read linearly rather than leveraging saccadic eye movements that naturally direct attention to key information. This results in inefficient visual navigation.
Additionally, the template presents an overload of text, increasing cognitive load and consuming more working memory. As a result, users struggle to quickly understand what is being asked, reducing overall efficiency and engagement.
Goals for Information Retention
The growth of our idea.
LINEAR PROCESSING
Currently, the Canvas template is designed primarily for linear text processing, limiting users' ability to navigate and absorb information efficiently. The design lacks intentional focal points that guide the eye and facilitate quicker comprehension.
TYPOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS
Additionally, key typographic elements—such as font choice, size, character width, weight, and line spacing—have not been optimized, placing unnecessary cognitive strain on the reader.
VISUAL HIERARCHY
Our goal is to redesign the template to enhance visual hierarchy, improve information flow, and create intuitive skimmability—ultimately increasing fluency, accuracy, and comprehension.
Brainstorming and Synthesizing Ideas
Bringing together multiple viewpoints.
Our first phase was generating ideas and then to converge those ideas.
We used "The Worst Idea" method when we noticed we kept repeating the same ideas. This helped us better problem solve and find new areas we had not considered.
Areas of concern
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common eye fixations
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field of vision
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minimize cognitive overload
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user productivity
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shorten learning restrictions
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information in intuitive places
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section 508 color, spacing etc...
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consistency with user expectations
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discoverability
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well-defined landmarks
User Persona Analysis
Finding the ideal user and understanding their behavior patterns, goals, skills, and attitudes.
In this phase we needed to identify the typical user of Canvas to focus faculty and student needs and desires.
We concentrated on the following areas
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Demographics (age, education level, technology level)
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Psychographics (social media, extra-curricular activities, spending habits, sports, opinion of technology, reading, video)
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Triggers (Positive/Negatives of Canvas)
Some usability specialists feel that designers will have far more success designing an interface that meets the goals of one specific person, instead of trying to design for the various needs of many.
Our goal was to develop a believable persona so that everybody will accept the new aesthetic.
We decided to detail these technical skills to give an idea of computer competency and to include one or two fictional details about the persona’s life.
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Basic, Intermediate, and Novice Computer Skills
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Goal oriented user
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Data driven user
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Engaged user
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Fictional user