Case Study
In Pursuit of an award-winning website
It was time to update the CMS for award-winning University of Melbourne news and research content website Pursuit. The redesign and relaunch would transform the editorial workflow and improve the immersive reader journey.
The design solution also aimed to enhance the high-calibre status of Pursuit as a leading channel for the University’s promotion of impact and research, uplifting the organisation’s digital reputation.
Since the launch in 2015, more than 50% of Pursuit's audience has grown internationally with audiences in the United States, India, Philippines, the United Kingdom and Indonesia. In 2022, Pursuit won the Universities Australia Award for Excellence in University Research Reporting.
My role
Design team lead
UX Lead
Storytelling narrative designer, prototyper and tester
The results
An immersive storytelling narrative experience through animation, photography and integrating data visualisation.
Uplifted interface design, brand evolution and user experience.
Improved workflow support for editors and content creators through a simplified publishing process in the new Squiz DXP CMS.
Enhanced navigation, categorisation, contextual discovery, search and way-finding for the reader.
Implementation of best practice accessibility and SEO.
The immersive storytelling narrative experience on the new article page design
Why redesign an already-successful brand?
The 2024 redesign of the Pursuit website strategically improved its focus to an immersive, multimedia-driven digital experience, with an emphasis on storytelling and engagement through enhanced visuals, including graphics, data visualisation, videos and animation.
The new design further enhanced the showcase of the University's research and its impact in an immersive, accessible way for an online audience.
Making key changes
Immersive storytelling: The redesign uses enhanced graphics, data visualisation, video, audio and animation to bring research to life.
Multimedia-first approach: The new format moves beyond text-heavy articles to leverage digital tools, catering to modern online readership habits.
Content discovery: Enhanced navigation and category wayfinding with improved contextual discovery.
Dynamic format: The restructured website creates a more engaging connection with readers, showcasing the how and why of research.
Audience engagement: The redesign provides a more engaging digital journey.
To design the new, start with the old
Before work commenced, the design and development team regularly met with the Pursuit editorial team to understand the editorial workflow process and production cycles of research and news stories. We witnessed the intricacies of how editorial crafted stories in the old CMS and the limitations encountered in the rigid online template.
Through design workshops and in-depth research of editorial strategic plans, we were able to construct the design and workflow solutions while establishing an improved storytelling and content discovery experience.
Sharing with the competition
Competitor analysis of other media websites was a key step in addressing the narrative experience.
We interviewed sources in international universities and other news organisations, such as the BBC and ABC, who provided key insights into the long-read experience.
Through analysis, conversations and collaboration, we built out a complete wish list of functionality that would add to the immersive narrative layer.
Testing on all fronts
I lead my team to explore functionality through existing Pursuit stories and data. We chose short and long-story scenarios and applied new design solutions.
We continually tested page prototypes with existing readers, authors and critically external knowledge holders at other universities and international media organisations. Multiple rounds ensured the proposed experience of the article page scenarios, category page and home page provided way-finding touchpoints.
We moved quickly from testing basic wireframe structures to more high-fidelity and interactive designs, then to the proposed final user interface with complete branding integration.
Success of a complex project
The developers, CMS architects and editorial team worked in parallel with the designers to ensure migration to the new CMS would include the ideas and functionality covered in the testing phase.
The redesigned Pursuit website successfully launched in late 2024.
The improved design showcasing the University's research and impact voice has resulted in significant international and domestic audience growth. Session duration on the website has increased, providing evidence of the redesigned experience.
The Pursuit editorial team now operate with a streamlined CMS workflow that saves time on production and allows more focus on immersive content for readers while facilitating resonance of the publication.
Enhanced navigation and category wayfinding with improved contextual discovery
Usage statistics snapshot
A monthly comparison between the pre go-live and post go-live in 2024 revealed:
+17% new users
+6% average session duration
+4% page views per session
+30% share interactions
+40% mobile-specific views
Uplifted search functionality as part of the new design > sessions increased by 45%
+6% increase in Siteimprove Digital Certainty Index (Accessibility, Quality Assurance, and SEO)
Testimonials
“The new-look Pursuit maintains our high-calibre, award-winning standard of storytelling and enables us to create a more engaging connection with our audiences. We can now bring the University’s research to life using a suite of digital tools, including enhanced graphics, data visualisation, videos, audio and animation. All of this enables us to showcase the how and the why of research, taking our audience on an immersive digital journey.”