New York Public Library's Support Us section
- Role: Senior UX Designer
- Company: New York Public Library
- Sector: Museums & Libraies, Non-profit
During the 8 years that I was Senior UX Designer for the New York Public Library, I helped guide the organization through a pivotal shift toward handheld and personalized digital experiences. By grounding our work in user research and reusable patterns, I helped shape the Library's digital strategy with systems that set a baseline for future iterations and new projects. I built the Library's first design pattern library, I fully redesigned the Support section, and I led the UX side of upgrading the Drupal installation for NYPL.org.
Challenge
The Development department needed to communicate the many ways patrons could support the Library, but as the sole UX designer, my time was limited. This required a highly efficient approach so that my time with the Development staff needed to be as productive as possible.
Solution
I began by assessing requirements and working with the Development team to define content priorities using structured tools such as page tables. This strategic approach unified stakeholders around a shared purpose and improved organizational insight into what donors truly needed.
Using wireframes, I quickly tested content and layout hypotheses, ensuring alignment before visual design or code. This process allowed us to make rapid, informed decisions, grounded in sound design principles.
Result
Within six months, membership increased by 33%, demonstrating the impact of improved information architecture and user experience. This success led to a follow-up project developing contextual donation "ads" across the site, which increased donations and strengthened the Library's fundraising capacity.