Australian Honours Search Facility

I help Australian businesses design and develop high-performing websites and apps that turn visitors into customers and support long-term growth.

Individual interacting with the Australian Honours Search
Individual interacting with the Australian Honours Search

Overview

As a UX Designer, I worked on the Australian Honours Search experience, a government platform that allows users to search and explore recipients of Australian honours and awards.

The project focused on improving the usability and clarity of the search and results experience through research, design iteration, and validation. I worked with a small team and recruited participants through Askable to ensure feedback was grounded in real user behaviour and expectations.

My role covered usability testing, interaction design, and iterative UI development from low fidelity concepts through to high fidelity designs, supported by desktop research and early design system thinking.

Problem Statement

The existing Honours Search experience had usability and clarity challenges that made it difficult for users to effectively find and interpret information about award recipients.

Search interactions were not always intuitive, which impacted discoverability of relevant records. The structure and presentation of results lacked consistency, making it harder for users to scan and compare entries. There were also gaps in the overall interface hierarchy, which reduced clarity when navigating between search and detailed views. In addition, there was limited design consistency across UI patterns, which created friction in the overall experience.

The platform needed a more structured, usable, and consistent search experience that supported both quick lookup and deeper exploration of honours data.

Deliverables

  • Conducted usability testing sessions with recruited participants via Askable to validate search behaviour and identify pain points
  • Performed desktop research to understand comparable search and data exploration patterns
  • Defined early design system direction to improve consistency across search and results components
  • Created low fidelity wireframes to explore layout and interaction approaches
  • Developed mid fidelity prototypes to refine structure and usability of key flows
  • Delivered high fidelity UI designs ready for validation and development handover
  • Iterated designs based on user feedback across multiple testing rounds

Outcome

The work improved the clarity and usability of the Honours Search experience by making search interactions more intuitive and results easier to scan and interpret. A more consistent UI structure helped users navigate between search results and detailed records with greater ease. Iterative testing ensured that design decisions were grounded in real user behaviour, leading to more effective interaction patterns. The introduction of early design system thinking also improved consistency across components and set a stronger foundation for future enhancements to the platform.