Project Overview
【Background and Challenges】
Langara Langara The student dashboard at Langara College is an important system that supports daily student life, including course registration and schedule checking. However, the existing UI features a layout densely packed with small text links, presenting challenges in low visibility and a high risk of operational errors.
Current UI: The existing dashboard with many text items lined up
【Redefining the Target Users】
Beyond the typical young students in their 20s and 30s, the target was expanded to include seniors in their 60s and 70s studying in the college’s Continuing Studies (lifelong learning) programs. An intuitive interface is necessary even for users who find it difficult to distinguish small text due to presbyopia or age-related changes in vision.
【Objective】
To realize an accessible UI that allows all students, regardless of age or physical condition, to understand information at a glance and reach their intended actions without getting lost.
Current Issues
Low Visibility and Readability Due to Small Text
Small text is densely aligned in the sidebar, making it difficult for students in their 60s–70s with advancing presbyopia to identify the characters.
Risk of Operational Errors Due to Narrow Target Areas
Because the clickable areas of the text links are narrow, there is a risk of accidentally pressing a neighboring item or proceeding with an operation based on a misrecognition.
Current UI: High information density makes it difficult to scan
High Cognitive Load Due to Lack of Visual Aids (Such as Icons)
The entire screen is dominated by plain text, so users cannot “judge at a glance” when looking for the desired information (such as class details or payments), which increases the time spent searching.
Design Approach
Proposal: Main menu with button-style design and icons
Replaced small text links with easy-to-press, instantly recognizable button-style UI. Significantly reduces the risk of mis-taps and cognitive load.
Changing from Text Links to Large Button-Style UI
A button format with enlarged click (tap target) areas was adopted. This makes buttons easy to press for anyone regardless of eyesight and helps prevent mis-taps.
Pairing “Text + Intuitive Icons”
Icons that allow the function to be understood visually before reading the text were added. This reduces cognitive load and makes it possible to identify the next place to press at a glance.
Structuring Information (Tables and Direct Actions)
Lecture information and schedules were visually organized in table format. Design elements such as placing an “email send icon” next to the instructor’s name create pathways that reach the intended action with the minimum number of steps.
Key Features
Main Menu (Navigation)
The list of text items in the sidebar was eliminated and replaced with easy-to-press buttons and large pictograms (icons).
Course Registration & Weekly Schedule
Proposal: Visually organized weekly schedule
Visually restructured the timetable. Users can scan the necessary information at a glance, greatly reducing cognitive load.
A timetable UI that visualizes days of the week and times in block form. Color contrast and icons are used so that students can grasp their own schedule at a glance.
Lecture Details & Access to Instructors
Proposal: Table display of detailed information with action buttons
Organized instructor, location, and time into a table, and placed the email icon right next to the relevant information.
Enables users to grasp the required details and complete the action with minimal steps.
Instructor name, location, and time are presented in a table. An icon next to the instructor’s name that links directly to an email form was added to reduce the number of steps required.
Reflection
When we casually use something ourselves, we tend to overlook issues with the mindset of “it’s hard to see, but you get used to it.” By focusing on the full picture of the users—including students in their 60s and 70s in Continuing Studies—I was able to realize the essence of UX: “What is ordinary for me can be inconvenient for someone else.”
This project taught me the importance of not merely cleaning up the appearance, but thoroughly considering differences in visibility caused by presbyopia and physical conditions, and pursuing design that anyone can use without getting lost or straining themselves (inclusive design).