MY TRIBUTES
UX/ UI REFRESH
WHAT IS
MY TRIBUTES?
My Tributes is Australia’s number one destination for death, funeral, and tribute notices. When a notice is published in a News Corp Australia publication, it will also appear on mytributes.com.au, where family and friends of the deceased can view and cherish their memory for years to come.
THE
PROJECT
My Role: Lead UX/ UI designer, product design, user research, project coordinator and product tester.
Business Goal: Redesign the structure and layout of the website to accommodate new products for both general customers and funeral directors. Update the user interface to support these new offerings and create a more welcoming, user-friendly design. This will increase revenue and customer time on site.
Customers Needs: Ensure the design remains professional and respectful, preserving the dignity of the deceased and providing a safe, comforting space to share memories of loved ones. Additionally, ensure that the products offered to funeral directors are valuable to their business.
Hypothesis: By implementing new products and redesigning the user interface, we will increase user engagement, as measured by an uplift in site visits and longer session durations.
BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH
Prior to this project, I conducted both quantitative and qualitative research to better understand user behaviour on the My Tributes website. Patterns began to emerge around key friction points, particularly with users struggling to locate recent notices, refine searches to find specific individuals, and navigate the site due to accessibility issues with the colour palette. Another challenge we identified was the lack of clear differentiation between product listing tiers. I collaborated with the product manager to develop a three-tier system with distinct visual designs for each tier, improving user comprehension and helping customers select the option best suited to their needs.
PERSONAS
Before implementing the design work, I developed core personas for My Tributes to clarify our goals for the new website and to identify which new products would best resonate with each group. I identified three primary user segments. Regulars, Specifics, and At-Need. Each of which was further divided into more detailed subgroups.
PERSONA TYPES & USER STORIES
Based on the information I gathered from analytic tools, CSAT form fills, and call logs from our call centre, I was able to amalgamate this data to create the five personas below. Once the five personas were created, I developed user stories for each to refine their main goals. From this, I brainstormed with the Product Manager to explore additional new products that could be added to the site.
IDEATION
With the personas and user stories established, I assessed how the new products could be effectively integrated into the existing site structure. A key initiative was the development of a dedicated ‘Partnerships’ section, allowing like-minded businesses to advertise on My Tributes in a respectful and appropriate way, while aligning with the site’s values and limitations. As part of this, partnership tiles were thoughtfully embedded within the listings section, which features the most recent notices.
I also refined the three-tiered listing system by introducing a colour-coded scheme that clearly differentiates each tier, improving user understanding and aiding navigation. This update is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 presents the redesign of the ‘Recent Notices’ section on the homepage. In the previous version, this highly engaged area occupied just a quarter of the screen on desktop and was positioned below the fold, despite being one of the most interacted-with parts of the site. Using a user-centred design approach, I explored ways to give this section greater prominence and repositioned it above the fold to better meet user expectations and behaviour.
FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 2.
DIGITAL WIREFRAMES
Following the initial design concepts for integrating the new products into the site, I developed digital wireframes to explore how the broader site experience could come together. These wireframes were shared with the development team and reviewed collaboratively to determine implementation priorities and identify any technical limitations.
COLOUR PALETTE & RESEARCH
A significant part of this redesign involved enhancing the colour palette. It was agreed that the current My Tributes colour palette didn't reflect the brand's nature as a calm and safe space for respecting those who have passed and sharing the memory of loved ones. Additionally, the existing colour palette did not meet WCAG standards.
MY TRIBUTES ORIGINAL COLOUR PALETTE
MY TRIBUTES UPDATED COLOUR PALETTE
I explored various colour palettes and collaborated with stakeholders to refine the new My Tributes colour palette to include Forest Green and various shades of Beige. Not only did these colours meet WCAG standards, but they also reflected a more peaceful and calming nature for the brand.
HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
Once stakeholders had reviewed the low-fidelity prototype and finalised the colour palette, I progressed to high-fidelity design, where the visual and interactive elements of the experience were fully realised. I focused on maintaining visual consistency across the interface by establishing a robust style guide, ensuring alignment with brand standards and accessibility considerations. I also prepared the designs for handover, providing detailed specifications and design assets to ensure the development team could accurately implement the intended user experience.
FINAL OUTCOME
The site was closely monitored post-launch, with key performance indicators such as revenue and listing volume showing positive trends. The refresh contributed to measurable year-over-year growth in both digital revenue and listings.
I played an active role in overseeing the development of the new site by breaking down the design into manageable development tasks and collaborating closely with the Scrum Master to ensure that each build aligned with the intended design. Following the website launch, I took responsibility for reviewing the implemented design and collecting user feedback. While the majority of responses were positive, we also received valuable suggestions for improvement. Since launch, My Tributes has continued to evolve through iterative enhancements, aimed at delivering an even stronger and more satisfying user experience.