Voyant Tools is a text analysis website used by people in the digital-humanities field but is open to everyone to use. I was tasked to redesign the layout of the website.
Original Website
Voyant Homepage
Voyant Main Tools Page
Observations from Original Website
Female, 39, Intermediate Technology Experience
Overwhelmed when first opening the website
When faced with something she couldn't understand, didn't want to learn, instead moved on
Not using help function
When viewed other tools, didn't click help button to see what the tool does
"It just shows the same information in different forms"
Didn't like the visualization tools
Spent 30 minutes exploring the website
Male, 21, Intermediate/Advanced Technology Experience
Enjoyed using the website
More open to exploring the different tools
Thought there was too much information to process at once
Started to understand tools without the help function
"It gets old really fast."
Enjoyed the visualization tools, but said it wouldn't help him if he needed it
"It got too repetitive."
Spent 30 minutes exploring the website
Website Redesign
Voyant Main Tools Page
Voyant Tools Popup
Observations from Redesign
Female, 22, Intermediate Technology Experience
Initially confused on what the website was
After walking through it, said it was easy to understand once played with
Liked how it was laid out
Said it was easier to use than original but thought there could be more improvements
Suggested a "Live Chat" feature for questions
Male, 36, Beginner/Intermediate Technology Experience
Didn't know what to do upon looking at the redesign
Understood buttons without needing explanations
Suggested a place for visual tutorials for the tools
Thought the redesign was more user-friendly and more organized
Liked that there were "less words"