Role
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Tools
Figma
Timeline
3 Months
Team
Individual
Asian American Film Festival
Established in 1978 by Asian CineVision, the Asian American International Film Festival is the nation’s first and longest running festival of its kind and the premier showcase for the best independent Asian, Asian diaspora and Pacific Islander cinema. AAIFF is committed to film and media as a tool for social change and to supporting diversity and inclusion in the media arts.
Cluttered homepage
The AAIFF homepage suffered from cluttered design elements, making it difficult for users to quickly find essential information. Key features such as event schedules, ticket purchasing options, and festival highlights were not easily accessible, leading to user frustration and high bounce rates. Additionally, the visual design lacked a cohesive and modern aesthetic, failing to engage visitors. The homepage needed a redesign to streamline content, improve navigation, and create an inviting first impression for users.
Current state
Before the redesign, the homepage comprised of these sections: hero section, films & shows mosaic, announcements section, and sponsors.
Understanding priorities
Before being able to sketch and lay things out on the screen, I had to understand what was needed in the homepage. I reached out to several stakeholders like operations managers and team leads to get a better understanding of what they were expecting from the new website and this was what was echoed:
"Prioritize the mosaic"
What makes a good homepage?
Effective homepages should be simple and should be able to communicate the organization’s and site’s purpose easily. To ensure that the content above the fold is engaging and useful to all customer types, I kept these guidelines in mind:
Finding what works for others
With a better grasp of the design requirements, I looked at many different homepages to find what was working and how they did it. I chose to conduct a competitive analysis of other homepages because this was an effective way to see what was working for them. It was interesting to see what competitors prioritize and how they display relevant information.
Mosaic
From speaking with stakeholders, I realized that a big part of the redesign that they wanted me to focus on was the mosaic section. The issue with the old homepage was the fact that there were multiple sections that served the same purposes and that was true for the mosaic section. I chose to repurpose this section as a “Festival Spotlight” section, showing users featured content that could drive ticket sales.
Before
Final Design
To give the web team more freedom to showcase what they want, I created multiple versions of the mosaic section: one that features 3 events, one that features 4 events, and one that features 5 events.
Finally, I made the necessary updates, ensured the designs were responsive, and confirmed that all elements adhered to the design system before handing them off to the developers.
Positive Impact
My design is still live on the current AAIFF website and was seen by the public for the 47th and 48th annual Asian American International Film Festival in New York City.