CCPRO

Overview

The CCPRO website at Washington State University needed a redesign to handle 30,000+ daily visitors and improve accessibility, usability, and engagement. The old site was cluttered, hard to navigate, and failed WCAG 2.1 standards. My goal as lead UX/UI designer was to create an accessible, efficient platform that supports diverse users and advances the university’s cannabis research mission.

Goals

  1. Improve task efficiency for key users
    Researchers, students, and donors needed to complete specific tasks fast — like finding studies, registering for events, or accessing resources. The target was a 30%+ reduction in click-depth and time-to-task.

  2. Meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
    The old site failed basic contrast and layout requirements. We had to meet AA compliance across mobile and desktop without compromising usability or speed.

  3. Make research content actually usable
    Academic portals often overwhelm users. Our goal was to surface the right information in 3 clicks or less, using faceted search, clean navigation, and mobile-first patterns that hold up under real load.

My Role + Responsibilities

Led UX/UI for CCPRO site redesign. Improved task flows, mobile UX, and accessibility—cutting research task steps by 62% and boosting mobile use by 40%.

Team

3 UX researchers, 2 developers, 1 PM. I owned UX strategy, wireframes, UI design, and user testing within WSU’s strict CMS limits.

CCPRO

Overview

The CCPRO website at Washington State University needed a redesign to handle 30,000+ daily visitors and improve accessibility, usability, and engagement. The old site was cluttered, hard to navigate, and failed WCAG 2.1 standards. My goal as lead UX/UI designer was to create an accessible, efficient platform that supports diverse users and advances the university’s cannabis research mission.

Goals

  1. Improve task efficiency for key users
    Researchers, students, and donors needed to complete specific tasks fast — like finding studies, registering for events, or accessing resources. The target was a 30%+ reduction in click-depth and time-to-task.

  2. Meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
    The old site failed basic contrast and layout requirements. We had to meet AA compliance across mobile and desktop without compromising usability or speed.

  3. Make research content actually usable
    Academic portals often overwhelm users. Our goal was to surface the right information in 3 clicks or less, using faceted search, clean navigation, and mobile-first patterns that hold up under real load.

My Role
+ Responsibilities

Led UX/UI for CCPRO site redesign. Improved task flows, mobile UX, and accessibility—cutting research task steps by 62% and boosting mobile use by 40%.

Team

3 UX researchers, 2 developers, 1 PM. I owned UX strategy, wireframes, UI design, and user testing within WSU’s strict CMS limits.

CCPRO

Overview

The CCPRO website at Washington State University needed a redesign to handle 30,000+ daily visitors and improve accessibility, usability, and engagement. The old site was cluttered, hard to navigate, and failed WCAG 2.1 standards. My goal as lead UX/UI designer was to create an accessible, efficient platform that supports diverse users and advances the university’s cannabis research mission.

Goals

  1. Improve task efficiency for key users
    Researchers, students, and donors needed to complete specific tasks fast — like finding studies, registering for events, or accessing resources. The target was a 30%+ reduction in click-depth and time-to-task.

  2. Meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards
    The old site failed basic contrast and layout requirements. We had to meet AA compliance across mobile and desktop without compromising usability or speed.

  3. Make research content actually usable
    Academic portals often overwhelm users. Our goal was to surface the right information in 3 clicks or less, using faceted search, clean navigation, and mobile-first patterns that hold up under real load.

My Role + Responsibilities

Led UX/UI for CCPRO site redesign. Improved task flows, mobile UX, and accessibility—cutting research task steps by 62% and boosting mobile use by 40%.

Team

3 UX researchers, 2 developers, 1 PM. I owned UX strategy, wireframes, UI design, and user testing within WSU’s strict CMS limits.

Live Preview
Live Preview
Live Preview
Washington State University Photo
Washington State University Photo
Washington State University Photo

Timeline

Q3 2024

Client

WSU

Category

Education | UX/UI Design

Product Duration

3 MONTHS
Problem
Problem
Research
Research
Development
Development
Results
Results

PROBLEM

PROBLEM

PROBLEM

Washington State University’s CCPRO website supported a wide range of users — researchers, students, and public health advocates — but the experience was fragmented and inefficient.


Key issue: users couldn’t quickly access scientific content, register for events, or find resources — especially on mobile.

The mandate was clear: improve task efficiency and accessibility for a diverse audience, without rebuilding the platform from scratch. We had 6 months and had to work within the university’s rigid, outdated CMS.


This case study focuses on solving one core challenge: making complex research content easy to find and use for researchers.

Early sketches of the website structure.
Early sketches of the website structure.
Early sketches of the website structure.

Research

Research

Research

To understand where users were getting stuck and what they needed most, I led a focused discovery phase.


Stakeholder Interviews

I interviewed 12 internal stakeholders (researchers, staff, and donors). Top insights:

  • Researchers needed fast access to peer-reviewed studies

  • Staff lacked usable tools for managing events

  • Donors wanted to see research impact at a glance


These shaped measurable goals, like reducing time-to-find-study by 30%.


User Research

I led a team of 3 UX researchers to define key personas based on survey data (n=150) and usability testing (n=20).


Core Personas


Persona

Role

Key Goals

Pain Points

Dr. Elena Torres

Cannabis researcher

Wants quick access to peer-reviewed, credible studies

Spends too long navigating to specific results

Jake Simmons

Undergraduate student

Needs risk prevention materials for a class project

Struggles with dense academic language and poor search

Sarah Nguyen

Public health advocate

Looks for upcoming events and community resources

Can’t find events easily, poor mobile experience


Findings:

  • 65% of users couldn’t locate specific studies

  • 80% rated the mobile experience “poor” due to layout and responsiveness


Competitive Analysis

I audited 5 peer research portals. Most used:

  • Faceted search filters

  • Clean, modular layouts

  • Minimalist navigation


This informed our direction — clarity and structure mattered more than academic polish.

To understand where users were getting stuck and what they needed most, I led a focused discovery phase.


Stakeholder Interviews

I interviewed 12 internal stakeholders (researchers, staff, and donors). Top insights:

  • Researchers needed fast access to peer-reviewed studies

  • Staff lacked usable tools for managing events

  • Donors wanted to see research impact at a glance


These shaped measurable goals, like reducing time-to-find-study by 30%.


User Research

I led a team of 3 UX researchers to define key personas based on survey data (n=150) and usability testing (n=20).


Core Personas


Persona

Role

Key Goals

Pain Points

Dr. Elena Torres

Cannabis researcher

Wants quick access to peer-reviewed, credible studies

Spends too long navigating to specific results

Jake Simmons

Undergraduate student

Needs risk prevention materials for a class project

Struggles with dense academic language and poor search

Sarah Nguyen

Public health advocate

Looks for upcoming events and community resources

Can’t find events easily, poor mobile experience


Findings:

  • 65% of users couldn’t locate specific studies

  • 80% rated the mobile experience “poor” due to layout and responsiveness


Competitive Analysis

I audited 5 peer research portals. Most used:

  • Faceted search filters

  • Clean, modular layouts

  • Minimalist navigation


This informed our direction — clarity and structure mattered more than academic polish.

To understand where users were getting stuck and what they needed most, I led a focused discovery phase.


Stakeholder Interviews

I interviewed 12 internal stakeholders (researchers, staff, and donors). Top insights:

  • Researchers needed fast access to peer-reviewed studies

  • Staff lacked usable tools for managing events

  • Donors wanted to see research impact at a glance


These shaped measurable goals, like reducing time-to-find-study by 30%.


User Research

I led a team of 3 UX researchers to define key personas based on survey data (n=150) and usability testing (n=20).


Core Personas


Persona

Role

Key Goals

Pain Points

Dr. Elena Torres

Cannabis researcher

Wants quick access to peer-reviewed, credible studies

Spends too long navigating to specific results

Jake Simmons

Undergraduate student

Needs risk prevention materials for a class project

Struggles with dense academic language and poor search

Sarah Nguyen

Public health advocate

Looks for upcoming events and community resources

Can’t find events easily, poor mobile experience


Findings:

  • 65% of users couldn’t locate specific studies

  • 80% rated the mobile experience “poor” due to layout and responsiveness


Competitive Analysis

I audited 5 peer research portals. Most used:

  • Faceted search filters

  • Clean, modular layouts

  • Minimalist navigation


This informed our direction — clarity and structure mattered more than academic polish.

Final designs (mobile).
Final designs (mobile).
Final designs (mobile).

DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT

With clear user goals, I translated insights into tangible UX improvements.


User Flows
I mapped out flows for each persona.
For Dr. Torres, I prioritized a global search bar with filters by study type and date.
Her path to a relevant PDF was reduced from 8 clicks to 3.


Wireframes
Designed low-fidelity wireframes for 5 core pages (Home, Research Library, Events, About, Contact).
Key decisions:

  • Modular grid (8px base) for scalable layout

  • High-contrast palette (#1A3C34 primary) meeting WCAG AA

  • Font: Open Sans for maximum legibility


Design reviews led to key adjustments, like enlarging CTA buttons by 20% for mobile accessibility.


Prototyping + Testing
Built interactive Figma prototypes with dynamic search and real-time form validation.
Tested with 15 users across personas. Key fix:

  • 40% of users missed the “Events” tab, so I moved it to primary nav, reducing task time by 15 seconds.

FAQ Page.
FAQ Page.
FAQ Page.

Results

Results

Results

In the first month after launch:


Metric

Before

After

Delta

Daily Active Users

30,000

37,500

↑ +25%

Mobile Traffic Share

—

+40%

↑ +40%

Avg. Task Completion

8 steps

3 steps

↓ −62%

Navigation Error (Events)

40% missed

5% missed

↓ −87.5%


Visual Comparison Chart:


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