Case Studies

Resume

About

Role

Role

UX Designer

Website

Website

https://www.library.ucla.edu/

Industry

Industry

Higher Education

Team

Team

3 designers + Product Designer + Lead Manager

Overview

The UCLA Film & Television Archive website contained valuable content, but users struggled to navigate it. I led usability testing and research synthesis to identify structural issues and define a clearer direction for improving onboarding and discoverability.

The Problem

Users experienced:

  • Confusing navigation labels (Events vs. Collections)

  • High cognitive load on the homepage

  • Unclear starting points for first-time visitors

Design Challenge

How might we improve discoverability and onboarding for first-time Archive users while maintaining institutional credibility and academic structure?

How might we improve discoverability and onboarding for first-time Archive users while maintaining institutional credibility and academic structure?

What I did

Led moderated usability testing sessions

  • Conducted task-based evaluations (e.g., find a screening event)

  • Synthesized findings into key usability breakdowns

  • Defined research-backed design priorities

  • Presented insights to stakeholders to drive alignment

Key Findings

  1. Navigation reflected internal logic, not user mental models

  2. Dense content increased hesitation before clicking

  3. First-time users lacked clear onboarding pathways

Strategic Direction

Based on testing, I defined three priorities:

  • Clarify Information Architecture – Simplify and relabel navigation based on user language

  • Reduce Cognitive Load – Improve hierarchy and prioritize high-intent actions

  • Improve Onboarding – Establish clearer first-click journeys

These directions guided iterative structural improvements.

Impact

35%

Improved onboarding process

25%

Increase in user retention

84%

Increase in time spent on website

35%

Improved onboarding process

25%

Increase in user retention

84%

Increase in time spent on website

“ Mila led other Student UX Designers through a usability testing session for UCLA’s Film and Television Archive website. She presented her findings to stakeholders, achieving alignment and facilitating seamless project progression. Her contributions directly improved usability and accessibility for our primary users. ”

Michael

Product Designer | UCLA Library

Results

Delivering immediate impact through detailed annotation of 3 UI components, ensuring seamless hand-offs for developers.

Created 30+ icons for UCLA Library’s learner-centered design toolkit .

Conducted an audit of the design system, attended industry panels, and led usability testing to propose solutions for Film Archive(FTVA) Event page.

Reflection

This project reinforced that impactful UX starts with structural clarity, not just visual redesign. Leading usability testing showed me how refining information architecture can significantly improve discoverability.

To deepen my approach, I joined the UX Leadership Libraries Slack community and participated in lightning talks from designers at peer institutions. I gained insights into IA strategy, focus group research, and large-scale redesign processes,and applied those learnings to strengthen my research synthesis.This experience strengthened my ability to translate research into scalable, system-level improvements.





Design Challenge

How might we improve discoverability and onboarding for first-time Archive users while maintaining institutional credibility and academic structure?

Results

Delivering immediate impact through detailed annotation of 3 UI components, ensuring seamless hand-offs for developers.

Created 30+ icons for UCLA Library’s learner-centered design toolkit .

Conducted an audit of the design system, attended industry panels, and led usability testing to propose solutions for Film Archive(FTVA) Event page.

Reflection

This project reinforced that impactful UX starts with structural clarity, not just visual redesign. Leading usability testing showed me how refining information architecture can significantly improve discoverability.

To deepen my approach, I joined the UX Leadership Libraries Slack community and participated in lightning talks from designers at peer institutions. I gained insights into IA strategy, focus group research, and large-scale redesign processes,and applied those learnings to strengthen my research synthesis.This experience strengthened my ability to translate research into scalable, system-level improvements.





“ Mila led other Student UX Designers through a usability testing session for UCLA’s Film and Television Archive website. She presented her findings to stakeholders, achieving alignment and facilitating seamless project progression. Her contributions directly improved usability and accessibility for our primary users. ”

Michael

Product Designer | UCLA Library

Results

Delivering immediate impact through detailed annotation of 3 UI components, ensuring seamless hand-offs for developers.

Created 30+ icons for UCLA Library’s learner-centered design toolkit .

Conducted an audit of the design system, attended industry panels, and led usability testing to propose solutions for Film Archive(FTVA) Event page.

Reflection

This project reinforced that impactful UX starts with structural clarity, not just visual redesign. Leading usability testing showed me how refining information architecture can significantly improve discoverability.

To deepen my approach, I joined the UX Leadership Libraries Slack community and participated in lightning talks from designers at peer institutions. I gained insights into IA strategy, focus group research, and large-scale redesign processes,and applied those learnings to strengthen my research synthesis.This experience strengthened my ability to translate research into scalable, system-level improvements.





Mila (Shiyun)Luo © 2026

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Mila (Shiyun)Luo © 2026

LinkedIn

Instagram