Project brief: The Discovery Tool is the central hub for Cambridge University Press academic content. The goal was to transform a static search like page into an immersive discovery experience, showcasing the full portfolio to drive exploration beyond the search bar.
Role: Lead Designer (Strategy & Ui)
Team: 3 product owners + Head of Ux
Focus: Product strategy, Prototyping, Stakeholder management
Status: High-fidelity prototype validated with 18 users at Digital Day. Championed by senior stakeholders for product roadmap.
Heuristic evaluation of the current page
1
Anchoring bias: Users tend to focus on the first thing they see. Since they’re greeted with a search bar, they end up treating the page like a search listing page.
2
Signifiers: Elements should clearly indicate their function. Right now, it's unclear which filters are selected and which aren't.
3
Hicks law: Too many options make decisions harder. Right now, results show all content types at once, which can be overwhelming.
4
Cognitive load: Users absorb visuals faster than text, so lack of images on the screen leads to more cognitive effort.
5
Visual hierarchy: People naturally follow a visual hierarchy when processing information. Right now, there's no clear order, leaving users unsure about what to read first.
Header navigation insights:
Over 70% click the “Discover” button without running any search, indicating strong curiosity but low follow-through on deeper exploration.
39.7% proceed from the Discovery Tool to view full content, showing that those who engage are motivated and purposeful.
Fewer than 40% run a Discovery Search, suggesting most visitors rely on default content rather than active querying.
Engagement gap:
Scroll and filter use remains low, reinforcing that the page functions more like a static landing page than a true exploratory tool.
To turn discoverers into searchers,
we set 3 key UX objectives
Design philosophies we followed
Rethinking first point of contact
Following the Ux strategies and philosophies we re-designed the header navigation; the first point of contact for users to get into the discovery tool.
Key Improvements:
Removed the dominant search bar to shift focus away from search-first behaviour.
Introduced direct links to content types, making it easier to jump into specific areas.
Simplified the user flow by reducing layers between navigation and content access.
Validation testing results:
To validate the redesigns, I utilized the annual Digital Day event to conduct guerrilla testing with 18 attendees. Participants were asked to locate specific content using the new prototype.
Key takeaway:
The prototype proved that users are willing to explore content when provided with visual entry points, validating the business case for a "Discovery-first" strategy.
Retrospective
Building a high-fidelity prototype and Guerrilla testing it quickly at Digital Day turned that insight into something tangible, which made it much easier to get stakeholder alignment.
The hardest part wasn’t the UI, it was shifting a “search-first” mindset. Using real data to show how people actually interacted with the page helped move the conversation from “I like the search bar” to “this is what our users need”
Project Impact
I delivered a detailed design system and documentation for the engineering team, defining component logic and edge cases upfront for the dev team.
This project became a blueprint for the wider platform. The Core search page adopted the tabbed navigation, and the product cards are now used on static pages. It helped move the business away from text-heavy lists and into a 'discovery-first' mindset.
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Test
Handoff
• Ui designs
• Prototypes
• User testing
• A/B testing
• Design system
• Documentation