52% Faster task completion through smarter navigation

Redesigned the global navigation to reduce friction and clearly surface the full breadth of CR’s offerings—helping users find what they need faster and move through key tasks with ease.

Year
2025

Freelance
40 hrs a week, 5 mths

Team
1 Head of Product & Design
1 UX Director
1 Associate Product Director
1 Sr. Product Designer (ME!)

Methodologies
Human Centered Design
Information Architecture
UI Design
Prototyping
Usability Testing & Tree Testing

Tools & Frameworks
Figma & FigJam 
Jira & Confluence
Anthropic Claude
ChatGTP
Human Interface Guidelines

Problem

Users struggle to find and understand the full range of CR’s content and benefits because the site’s navigation isn’t intuitive or easy to scan, leading to frustration, missed content, and difficulty navigating efficiently, which lowers engagement and comprehension of CR’s value.

Solution

Redesign the global navigation experience to improve content discoverability, support multiple user mental models, and reinforce Consumer Reports’ breadth of offerings and mission.

Responsibilities

UX & UI Design: Led a comprehensive redesign of the global navigation, optimized across pre- and post-login states to simplify the experience and reduce cognitive load.
Usability Testing: Designed and executed an unmoderated usability study with 75 participants across three variants, measuring task efficiency, cognitive effort, perceived value, and ease of navigation through both product-specific and abstract tasks.
Stakeholder Alignment: Drove stakeholder alignment around the recommended variant by synthesizing research findings into clear, actionable implementation guidance, demonstrating strong alignment with business goals and diverse user mental models.

UX & UI DESIGN

The Starting Point

AKQA’s initial global navigation testing pointed to the hamburger menu as the strongest solution. While the direction was clear, the design itself was still abstract and needed refinement to ensure it met all requirements and could scale with the redesigned taxonomy—work I actively contributed to.

USABILITY TESTING

What We Learned

I designed and ran an end-to-end unmoderated usability study to validate a path forward, building on AKQA’s initial hamburger menu concept. The study included 75 participants testing three navigation variants, with tasks focused on findability, cognitive load, task efficiency, and perceived value across both product-driven and exploratory journeys.

I synthesized quantitative results into a stakeholder readout with clear, actionable recommendations—leading to the selection and refinement of Variant #2, adoption of polyhierarchy for cross-category content, and guidance on masthead structure, search prominence, and reduced friction to support diverse mental models.

See Full Readout

STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT

Getting Buy-In

Following the research readout, I led cross-functional discussions to align stakeholders on Variant #2, addressing concerns around implementation complexity and taxonomy changes. By focusing in on the test results, the overall impact and conversion potential, I secured buy-in for the new hybrid hamburger & masthead approach.

I then partnered with Product and the rest of the Taxonomy team to define a phased approach—prioritizing quick wins while outlining longer-term initiatives—and supported refinement iterations and follow-up tree testing ahead of development handoff.

Outcomes

User satisfaction increased by 10.5%

Users completed tasks 52% faster
Ease of use improved by 5.2%

Want to chat?

Whether it’s dogs, yoga, or gardening, I love connecting over shared interests. I’m an experienced Product Designer based in New Jersey, just outside NYC, collaborating with teams worldwide.

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