King’s College London Students’ Union
King’s College London University
KCLSU is the student-led union representing over 35,000 King’s College London students. As part of a wider digital transformation, they needed a new website to replace their outdated and hard-to-navigate platform. The goal was to create a vibrant, mobile-friendly hub that better reflected student life and supported future growth.
The challenge
The old website was cluttered, difficult to use on mobile, and failed to meet the needs of students. Navigation was confusing, search didn’t work well, and key content like events, societies, and sub-brands was poorly organised.
My Role:
Lead UI/UX designer
Product:
Website
Produced at:
Aer Studios
Target Audience:
Students, Prospective Students, Society Organisers, Alumni, Staff and Parents
The Solution
I designed of an accessible, mobile-first website built around real user needs. Through stakeholder interviews, student surveys, and on-campus research, I identified key issues and functional gaps. A full design audit revealed areas for improvement, helping shape a cleaner, more intuitive and future-ready platform.
I established a cohesive design system with a component library and a diverse array of page templates, anchoring the brand’s visual language with unified typography, colours, UI elements, and a responsive grid. This framework allowed for scalability, supporting hundreds of pages with a consistent yet flexible layout.
Design Phase
To address navigation issues, I implemented a clean, intuitive structure with clear content prioritisation. I designed an improved search to make it easy for users to find resources like student clubs, events, and support services.
I created modular, customisable pages for KCLSU seven on campus bars, cafes and restaurants, allowing each sub-brand to retain a unique identity while remaining consistent with the overall site aesthetic.
CMS design
Additionally, I designed an intuitive CMS admin interface with a WYSIWYG editor, enabling KCLSU’s content team to easily update content without technical support.
Motion
Considering motion, I created animated mockups to communicate transitions to the external development team, enhancing UX through subtle animations.
The results
The launch of the new KCLSU website was met with positive feedback from both users and administrators. Enhanced navigation and a powerful search function has made it easy for students to find and join activities and events. The mobile-first design ensures seamless access to resources on any device.
Additionally, the scalable design system has laid a solid foundation for KCLSU’s growth, allowing new features and updates to be smoothly integrated over time while still preserving a cohesive user experience.
