TED Usability Test

This project began with a simple assumption: a site built around world class storytelling should feel effortless to navigate. Approaching TED.com as a UX researcher rather than a casual viewer revealed a very different reality. Four participants familiar with TED through social media but not the website completed a series of tasks. Their first impressions immediately diverged. Some described the homepage as simple, while others said their eyes gloss over everything because many of the colors blend together. That contrast became the core insight: the same interface can feel intuitive to one user and overwhelming to another. Observing participants highlighted issues with visual hierarchy, thumbnail similarity, navigation clarity, and account dependent features. Sharing a video was easy, but bookmarking without an account caused confusion. Several participants described the homepage as repetitive or visually monotonous, revealing deeper problems with content density and scannability. Turning raw observations into a formal report required synthesizing notes, questionnaires, and recorded comments into actionable insights. Recommendations such as reducing intrusive promotions, condensing the homepage, and improving visual appeal came directly from user feedback. This project strengthened my skills in usability testing, qualitative analysis, pattern recognition, UX writing, and translating user behavior into design recommendations. More than anything, it taught me how differently people experience the same interface and how UX research transforms those differences into meaningful design insight.