All case studies

Baruch College
Intranet Design

Reframing Institutional Knowledge Access,
Designing a Functional Intranet System from Fragmentation to Clarity

Role:

Web Content Editor

Duration:

Apr. 2024 - Sep. 2025

Before I Came

After My Design

Overview

Before I Came & After My Design

Before I Came &
After My Design

I was hired as the only UX Designer and Web Content Editor within the Technology Department, reporting directly to the Director of Solution Delivery & Innovation.

My responsibility was to redesign the entire staff-facing intranet system using SharePoint — a platform with significant technical constraints — while collaborating with multiple departments across the institution.

This was a 0-to-1 system redesign.

Overview

I was hired as the only UX Designer and Web Content Editor within the Technology Department, reporting directly to the Director of Solution Delivery & Innovation.

This was a 0-to-1 system redesign.

Overview

I was hired as the only UX Designer and Web Content Editor within the Technology Department, reporting directly to the Director of Solution Delivery & Innovation.

This was a 0-to-1 system redesign.

Result:

Designed and launched 200+ structured intranet pages
Achieved 89% positive usability feedback
Improved navigation efficiency across institutional services
Established long-term design governance framework

Designed and launched 200+ structured intranet pages
Achieved 89% positive usability feedback
Improved navigation efficiency across institutional services
Established long-term design governance framework

Designed and launched 200+ structured intranet pages
Achieved 89% positive usability feedback
Improved navigation efficiency across institutional services
Established long-term design governance framework

Problem Framing:

Challenge:

Before my involvement, the intranet was structured around organizational silos.

Each department independently managed its own pages, resulting in:

Fragmented navigation logic
Inconsistent visual patterns
Redundant or outdated Word-based documentation
High cognitive load for users
Lack of system-level governance

Users were required to understand the institution’s internal structure before they could access services.

This created a fundamental mismatch:

The system reflected how the organization worked —
not how people sought information.

Before my involvement, the intranet was structured around organizational silos.

Each department independently managed its own pages, resulting in:

Fragmented navigation logic
Inconsistent visual patterns
Redundant or outdated Word-based documentation
High cognitive load for users
Lack of system-level governance

Users were required to understand the institution’s internal structure before they could access services.

This created a fundamental mismatch:

The system reflected how the organization worked —
not how people sought information.

Before my involvement, the intranet was structured around organizational silos.

Each department independently managed its own pages, resulting in:

Fragmented navigation logic
Inconsistent visual patterns
Redundant or outdated Word-based documentation
High cognitive load for users
Lack of system-level governance

Users were required to understand the institution’s internal structure before they could access services.

This created a fundamental mismatch:

The system reflected how the organization worked —
not how people sought information.

Information Architecture Redesign

From "Organization-Centric" to "User-Centric"

For example:
Before redesign:
Home → Operations & Administration → Business Services → Travel

After redesign:
Home → Services → Travel

Similarly, the HR structure was decomposed into:

Benefits
Payroll & Timekeeping
Talent Acquisition
Information Systems

This reduced navigation depth and improved retrieval efficiency.

From "Organization-Centric" to "User-Centric"

For example:
Before redesign:
Home → Operations & Administration → Business Services → Travel

After redesign:
Home → Services → Travel

Similarly, the HR structure was decomposed into:

Benefits
Payroll & Timekeeping
Talent Acquisition
Information Systems

This reduced navigation depth and improved retrieval efficiency.

From "Organization-Centric" to "User-Centric"

For example:
Before redesign:
Home → Operations & Administration → Business Services → Travel

After redesign:
Home → Services → Travel

Similarly, the HR structure was decomposed into:

Benefits
Payroll & Timekeeping
Talent Acquisition
Information Systems

This reduced navigation depth and improved retrieval efficiency.

System Design under Constraints

Working Process:

Working within SharePoint’s limitations required designing interaction compensations rather than ideal solutions.

One major usability challenge was inconsistent back-navigation behavior.

To address this, I introduced a visual breadcrumb icon system at the top of each departmental page, allowing users to quickly return to the parent service page without relying on browser controls.

I also established institutional design principles, including: