Background
The Vignelli Center
The Vignelli Center houses one of the world’s most important design archives with over 750,000 artifacts stored within its walls. Visited by 8,000 people annually, it is a resource to individuals looking to learn more about the iconic designers, Massimo and Lella Vignelli.
ROLE
Research Lead,
New Media Lead
TIMELINE
13 Weeks
CLEINT
Vignelli Center
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam
Bringing the Center Online
Our challenge was to reimagine how this legacy could live and evolve online as a way of preserving the designers' legacy and expanding the center's mission to a larger audience.
Meet the Team!
PROJECT LEAD
Kenneday Intihar
RESEARCH & NEW MEDIA LEAD
Me!
UX LEAD
Ares Mei
VISUAL DESIGN LEAD
Olivia Licameli
My Role
My role as Research Lead focused on understanding the needs of professionals and researchers interacting with the Vignelli archive and translating those insights into a strategic, user-centered platform that supports meaningful research, discovery, and collaboration.
My role as New Media Lead was to utilize my expertise in new media and incorporate emerging technologies when relevant and useful for our target audience.
About Our Target Audience
External Professionals & Research-Driven Users
These are people who interact with Vignelli design in some form through their industry, design practice, education, general interest, all with specific research cases.
HOW MIGHT WE...
Create a unified digital experience that makes the Vignelli design legacy more accessible, searchable, and engaging for a global community of professionals and researchers?
Discovery Phase
Research Goals
Research Methods
Audit of Current Vignelli Sites
Vignelli Center for Design Studies Site
Vignelli Center Google Arts & Culture
Vignelli Center Tumblr
Key Observations:
1.
Content is fragmented across platforms, making it difficult to do focused research or gain a comprehensive understanding.
2.
Filtering and organization tools are limited, especially on Google Arts and Culture and Tumblr.
3.
There is no way to save, export or share assets, so research is easily lost.
User Interviews
We conducted 5 user interviews. These individuals were selected due to their use of the Vignelli Center for their research goals. Their very unique disciplines allowed us to understand the vast use cases of the Vignelli Archive and their online resources.
Product Designer
@ Heller, Inc.
German Industrial Design Professor
German Industrial Designer
Pastor @ St.
Peter's Church
Architect & Artist
The interviews were structured using an outlined set of open-ended questions designed to explore each participant's unique experiences while minimizing guiding answers.
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Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your role? What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
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Can you tell us about your collaboration with the Vignelli Center? How did you come to find and work with them?
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Have you gone to the physical center or used their online resources?
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What are your goals when using the Center's resources?
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How well do the Center's resources align with your needs as a [profession]?
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Is there anything you wish these resources could provide for you?
Data Analysis of Google Arts & Culture
The Vignelli Center provided us with their analytics from their Google Arts and Culture page to better understand how our users use these platforms. I utilized ChatGPT to write python code and my experience in marketing analytics to outline insights about our users during 2024:
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Insight
This made our team confident to proceed with designing for desktop as it is what our users utilize to conduct their research.
Insight
The data spans a total of 133 different countries, this guided us to focus on accessibility and availability through our digitial platform.
Define Phase
Synthesizing the Data
My team and I utilized Empathy Maps, 'I Need' Statements, and As-Is Scenario exercises to organize our data and find major patterns and pain points outlined by our users to help guide our solution.
User Needs
1.
Centralized access to the Vignelli archive to eliminate the frustration of navigating multiple disconnected platforms.
2.
Advanced search, filtering, and sorting tools to help users quickly find specific assets relevant to their research or project goals.
3.
The ability to save, organize, and export assets for ongoing reference, collaboration, and presentation use.
4.
Contextual insights into the Vignellis’ design philosophy and process, not just final outcomes, to support deeper understanding and inspiration.
Defining Key Features
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3 modes of exploration with advanced search tools
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Profile with saving and collaboration capabilites
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Product pages with extensive content and scalable for all Vignelli products
User Persona and Journey
Testing Phase
Development of the Prototype
Site Map, Workflow Diagram, & Wireframes
I developed the architecture of our site and translated them into low-fi wireframe based on our insights which I then handed off to the UX Lead to begin developing mid-fidelity screens.
Prototype V.1
Initial layouts for product pages and profile functionality, focusing on validating the overall structure, navigation, and core interactions in our usability tests.
Usability Testing
My team conducted 2 rounds of usability testing to evaluate the functionality of our features, clarity, and experience of the V for Vignelli platform.
Round 1
3 Participants
2 User Interviewees, 1 RIT Design Student
Round 2
1 Participant
1 User Interviewee
Testing Format
Each session followed a consistent structure:
•
Introductions
Brief overview of the prototype and goal of the sessions.
Provide the Scenario and Tasks to Complete
The user was provided a realistic research goal to completed based on information they provided from their user interviews. To assist with the goal completion and to test specific features, they were provided with tasks aligned to their goal.
•
The Walk-Through
The user verbalized their thoughts and reactions while navigating the site and completing their core tasks.
•
•
Final Commentary
We had the user provide any final feedback and questions they had based on their experiene interacting with our prototype.
Organizing Feedback into Actiononable Items
After each round, we worked together to analyze and organize insights, reviewing recorded sessions, merging our notes, and mapping a feedback grid.
From there, we created a prioritized task list—documented in FigJam and beside corresponding frames in Figma. This system allowed us to delegate responsibilities efficiently and implement targeted improvements within our deadlines.
Delivery Phase
Final Screens
1. Hub Page
Quick Access to 3 Modes
The central landing screen where users choose how they want to explore the Vignelli work based on their research goals.
2. Collections View
Filtered Exploration of the Archive
Users can browse the Vignelli work by a variety of advanced filters and search tools, making it easier to locate specific assets and discover new ones.
3. Interactive Timeline
View Work in Historical Context
A chronological view of Vignelli projects, personal milestones, and cultural events—helping users understand the work in a broader design and historical framework.
4. Vignelli Style Canon
Interactive Design Philosophy
An immersive, searchable experience of The Vignelli Canon, linking design principles to real examples and allowing users to explore Vignelli’s thinking in action.
5. Product Pages
All-in-One View of Process, Concept, and Outcome
Each product page is designed to reflect the unique nature of the work, providing a comprehensive view of the concept, process, and final result. This gives users a holistic understanding through layered content, media, and interactive features.
6. Profile
Save, Organize, and Collaborate
Users can save assets, create boards, and share with team members—making it easy to reference research, build presentations, or collaborate across projects.
Final Playback
What Did Our Stakeholders Think?
​“As a researcher, having everything in one place—with the ability to save images and revisit content—is incredibly appealing. It supports both structured research and inspiration-seeking, especially for designers who want something more legitimate and thoughtful than Pinterest or AI tools.”
- Keli DiRisio
"AR/VR toll is super unique and interesting."
- Keli DiRisio, Josh Wilcox, Juilee Decker
"Highlights the really great depth of bringing the process work- I get to see more layers to something we usually only see the finished product of. Comes back to this particular user need, they are looking not for just the finished product but how did we get here. And how great is it for us to be able to service those needs."
- Kara Kotwas
"It's a great tool for researchers but also the public."
- Juliee Decker
My Project Takeaways
User Research is AWESOME:)​
Leading the research was especially rewarding for me! It deepened my passion for user-centered design and showed how much I love connecting with people. ​
Working on a Multi-Disciplinary Design Team​
Working with a team of designers from different disciplines had its challenges, but our collaboration led to a much stronger outcome!
Iterating for User Testing​
Quickly iterating between usability tests was tough, but it made every round more valuable and helped us deliver a more thoughtful and polished experience.