Industry Documents Search

Designing Database Search for a Google World

I redesigned the search experience for a database of 14 million+ tobacco industry documents: a vital resource for users interested in public health. I had two goals: 1) make it easier to find useful results, and 2) design a scalable, cross-industry search engine to expand beyond tobacco.

I kicked off the project with an empathizing and problem finding phase.

Lead UX Designer

  • User research
  • Design thinking
  • Analysis & recommendations

Lead UX Designer

  • User research
  • Design thinking
  • Analysis & recommendations

I redesigned the search experience for a database of 14 million+ tobacco industry documents: a vital resource for users interested in public health. I had two goals: 1) make it easier to find useful results, and 2) design a scalable, cross-industry search engine to expand beyond tobacco.

I kicked off the project with an empathizing and problem finding phase.

User research

I spent weeks with primary, secondary, and tertiary users

I used quantitative analysis, contextual inquiry, informal interviews, and user testing of the existing site to discover:

images of usability test documentation

Design thinking method

Affinity diagramming is one of my favorite tools

affinity diagram key
I used color coding to quickly sort comments by user type

Several rounds of clustering helped identify common painpoints and prioritize efforts

affinity diagrams

Analysis and recommendations

Key takeaway: design for the novice without dumbing down the experience for everyone else

Image of whiteboard analysis

My deliverable for this phase was a summary document of takeaways and solutions