The user-centered redesign of my site (Sept. 2008):

I originally created my site as a final project in my Web Design class at Rutgers in fall of 2006. As I added more relevant work experiences and projects to the site, I realized that although the site is cross-browser compliant and functions well in the heuristics department, it needed tweaking to give users an experience that better matched their needs and expectations.

Foremost, I dove into Web Analytics of my site via Webalizer and Google Analytics:

• 2-4 unique visitors/day to my site. (excluding my usage)
• IE 6 is the most commonly used browser by my visitors.
• 18% of my traffic is directed from Google searches for photos/info on Brian Leonard—a running back on the St. Louis Rams and ex-Rutgers Football player.
• Direct URL request is the most common way users get on to my site.

Aside from users who stumble onto my site via queries for "Brian Leonard", the fact that direct URL request is the most common direction to my site indicates that having my URL listed on my resume must be generating a significant portion of my traffic. I also know from experience that a lot of my friends like to peek at my site to see what I am up to.

Personas:

Using the data from the web traffic analysis, I have created two personas to help me in my redesign of this site. The primary users of my site are potential employers. The secondary users of my site are those friends visiting to check out my photography, music, etc.

Persona 1 - "Potential Employer"

Name: Nicole Walker
Occupation: HR representative, creative agency.
Location: NYC
Computer setup: Fast Mac Pro with MAC OS X, Safari 3.0, 1680x1050 monitor, T-3 connection.

Description: Nicole is an HR rep for a mid-sized interactive agency. She has been searching the Web for qualified candidates to fill a user experience position in the New York office. She found Jeremy Pharo's resume through Dice and is interested in viewing his website.

Primary Goal(s): See if Jeremy Pharo has the right eye and right mind for the user experience position.
Secondary Goal(s): See if there are other positions the candidate could fill at the agency.
Pet Peeves: Non-minimalist design, unprofessional information or pictures, dirty coding, lack of motivation.

Persona 2 - "Friend"

Name: Mike Jones
Occupation: Recent college graduate.
Location: Northern New Jersey
Computer setup: Fast PC with Windows XP, IE 6.0 browser, 1024x768 monitor, cable modem.

Description: Mike is an ex-colleague of Jeremy Pharo--having worked with him at the school newspaper. He is 22 and like Jeremy, is also a recent Rutgers University graduate. He was thinking about starting a Rutgers Football blog to bolster his online presence as a writer and is in need of some football pictures for the blog. After being discouraged by the lack of good images using a creative-commons search on Flickr and the prices for images through Getty Images & AP, he remembers that Jeremy was a solid photographer with an abundance of Rutgers Football pictures and would probably give him a few pictures to help him with his blog.

Primary Goal(s): Find Rutgers Football pictures. Get in contact with Jeremy.
Secondary Goal(s): See what else Jeremy Pharo has been up to (including where he may be working).
Pet Peeves: Having to install plug-ins to use a feature on a site.