a board-certified vein surgeon was entering a new market in northern michigan and needed a website that worked for patients, not just other doctors. i designed the site from research through launch, using card sorting and user interviews to shape the information architecture.
the site launched with a 4.9 out of 5 patient satisfaction score.
most medical practice websites are built around how doctors think about their services — by procedure name, by condition, by clinical specialty. patients don't think that way. they think: "my legs hurt," "i don't like how my veins look," "is this something i should worry about?"
the challenge was to organize clinical content in a way that felt navigable and reassuring to someone who might not know the medical terminology for what they're experiencing.
i started with card sorting exercises to understand how patients naturally grouped and labeled vein-related topics. then i conducted user interviews to understand what questions they had before, during, and after considering treatment.
from that research, i built the information architecture — organizing content around patient questions and concerns rather than clinical categories. the navigation, page structure, and content hierarchy all came directly from what i learned in research.
the project followed a research-first process: card sorting → information architecture → wireframes → visual design → launch. at each stage, decisions were grounded in what i'd learned from patients, not assumptions about what a medical website should look like.
i also worked on the content strategy — helping the practice communicate clinical information in language that patients could understand without feeling talked down to. the tone needed to be reassuring and clear, not clinical or salesy.
this project reinforced something i've believed since my library work: the way you organize information determines whether people can use it. a patient website and a clinical database have different users, different contexts, and different stakes — but the underlying question is the same. can the right person find what they need?