Contract Work
WCAG Compliant

Fisk University

As a contract UX Designer at Fisk University, I designed a website displaying Julius Rosenwald’s contributions to the African American community during the mid-early 20th century.

ROLE
UX Contractor
TEAM
LaTaevia B
DeLisa H
Samantha G
PRODUCT
Research website
IMPACT
  • Significantly shortened data collection navigation time
  • Will help inform version 2 of the app in the next fiscal year

Sneak Peek

A search and browse mechanism for over 2000 images of schools and thousands of other documents from the Rosenwald Fund.

WCAG compliant design, ensuring accessibility for older user bases.

Why create a website?

A picture tells a thousand words.

Julius Rosenwald, a 20th century philanthropist, funded the construction of thousands of schools for African American students. Through this website, thousands of historical school photos will be made available to these students (now in their 80’s), providing nostalgia and comfort to an entire generation.

Additionally, thousands of related Rosenwald Fund documents (like fellowship paperwork) will be made available to academic researchers interested in African American history.

The Rosenwald Fund website makes images of schools, such as these available to the public.
Why create a website?
Our users needed an accessible, straight-forward, and a nostalgic experience
Accessibility

Understanding accessibility guidelines

In order to ensure that our users - seniors in their 80’s and beyond were able to use the website comfortably, I relied on several tools and resources:

Reading the WCAG Handbook

First, I read through the WCAG 2.2 handbook, taking note of the exact visual design changes I could make to ensure compliance.

Implementing WCAG

There were many accessibility principles I adhered to while designing. Here are a few:

AAA High Color Contrast Ratios
Users location in a set of pages is available
Help is available through tool tips for non-obvious UI

Understanding the Visual Impairment Experience

I used a Figma Accessibility Simulator, simulating severe visual impairment to adjust font weight and size. Around 20% of adults aged 40+ have a severe visual impairment. Using the visual impairment simulator, I made the decision to increase boldness in the body text.

OMEKA-S & Development

Wireframing with developmental constraints

Omeka-S is an open source content management system that provides specific organizational features for library, museum, and research websites. Our goal was to build off of the base format, while increasing usability through layout changes.

Modifying Omeka-S pages for accessibility and usability

The original Omeka-S page displays lacked hierarchy and readability. Working with my stakeholders, we redefined the visual branding, increased button target sizes, and reorganized content to be more clearly understandable for our users.

While adding features with code is possible, it is often difficult and limited. Working with a developer, we outlined possible designs with alternate formats.

Developers needed to work within Omeka-S source files to make changes, meaning our idea designs sometimes didn’t pan out the way we hoped. An example of this is the search results page, where we were unable to add a left filtering feature.

Final Solution

Presenting... The Rosenwald Fund Site

Home page
A search and browse mechanism for over 2000 images of schools and thousands of other documents from the Rosenwald Fund.
Accessibility first: WCAG compliant design
NEXT STEPS AND REFLECTION

In development!

As of April 2025, the Rosenwald Fund website is being developed on the Omeka-S platform, allowing researchers and senior populations to access thousands of images and documents about Rosenwald-funded schools.

Working as an independent contractor

This was my first time working in an independent contract position. I needed to learn how to visually execute clients' visions. This involved close communication and iteration. Most importantly, I learned that designs are reflections of not only my vision, but the vision of my collaborators and, most importantly, our users.

Accessibility

Given the older user base, I dove deep in to researching how to create an accessible website. While accessibility is basic in many ways (i.e large enough text, color contrast, clear navigation, etc), it is also complex. Disabilities need not be visual or auditory -- many disabilities involve attention span and memory, such as ADHD.

Thanks for stopping by, let's design together!
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