Creating immersive, accessible web experiences crafted to be read, felt, and remembered.
Project type: Unsolicited redesign / portfolio case study.
Role: UX researcher, information architect, wireframe designer.
Tools: Browser audit, site mapping, wireframing
Read Case Study →UI & Interaction Case Study
The Appeal is a nonprofit investigative news outlet covering policing, courts, prisons, and criminal justice policy in the United States. Its reporting is rigorous and important, and this project focuses on how the site's current structure can create friction for readers. I document recurring UX and information-architecture issues, identify which user needs are most affected, and propose a reorganized information architecture supported by wireframes for three core pages.
A hands-on audit of theappeal.org identified structural UX issues that share a common theme: the site's information design doesn't consistently match how readers navigate, orient, and decide what to read.
Navigation is fragmented across two menus and doesn't persist beyond the homepage, which makes it harder for users to return to where they were. Search is presented in multiple places (in the hamburger menu and again at the bottom of pages), creating inconsistency in how users expect to find it. On article pages, topic context appears only at the end, delaying helpful orientation. On the homepage, a full-width newsletter signup appears before any story content, asking for attention before users can quickly access value.
Rather than redesigning for aesthetics, the work is anchored in three user tasks:
Each element of the information-architecture proposal is tied to at least one of these tasks.
The Appeal's existing site structure, mapped from a hands-on audit. Marked nodes indicate problem areas and unclear hierarchy.
A redesigned structure built around the user tasks, offering persistent navigation, clear topic context, and an unobstructed path through the content.
