Joanna Hofer

Refresh Login Page

Case Study

The revised student login page makes a clear distinction between the test and the link to the practice test.

The refreshed student login page

Overview

Our goal was to refresh the NWEA MAP Growth Student Login page, which had dated graphics and unclear language. My task was to ensure clear and concise UI copy that was consistent across the platform, user-centered, easy to read, appropriate in tone, and in line with our company voice and values. I wrote new copy for several screens as part of a UX writer/designer team.

RequestWork with a UX designer to consolidate the assessment login screen with assessment and practice test information
My RoleUX writer
Timeline6 months
ResultAdoptions

Process

  1. Understand project goals
  2. Review designer draft
  3. Review word choice, reading level, voice, tone
  4. Suggest improvements
  5. Reach consensus with designer
  6. Release to team for review
Our starting point was a login screen for the practice text which asked for a username and password.

Our starting point

We addressed a microagression

Because we wanted to make users feel safe and supported, we didn’t want to seem to value English more than Spanish. While English was the most commonly used language among our users, we felt that displaying Spanish after English and in a smaller font could inadvertantly send the message that we thought Spanish and its speakers were secondary. To fix this, we added a toggle so that users could choose their preferred language, allowing them to switch between English and Spanish.

We sought to be understood

Realizing that the words “item” and “assessment” were technical jargon and might not be understood by students, we removed the terms. We strove for simplicity in all our word choices, and attempted to write to the lowest grade level possible in order to serve all students.

We wrote microcopy

Following current microcopy practices, we replaced the arrow image on the button with copy indicating the action the user was taking by selecting the button. This streamlined our accessibility checks because instead of us adding alt text to the button image, a screen reader could simply read the button copy.

We used simple sentence structures

Part of our strategy to be understood by the largest number of students was to write short imperative sentences in the present tense and use short, simple words. I didn’t agree completely with all of the approved copy. For example, I didn’t want to use the word “see” to direct students to our resources when some of our users might be vision impaired. I would have prefered to use more neutral language like “find.”

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