TIMELINE
August 2023 - December 2023
FORMAT
Responsive Web
ROLE
UX/UI Specialist
TL;DR
Led end-to-end redesign of ISC2's global website to modernize brand and improve usability.
Refined IA and navigation to better serve both seasoned professionals and new entrants in cybersecurity.
Improved discoverability of non-certification offerings to support member retention.
Designed and built responsive pages under tight deadlines, contributing to accessibility and localization readiness.
Collaborated with a cross-continental team of stakeholders, engineers, marketers, and designers from a third-party agency.
Background
ISC2 is a global membership association for cybersecurity professionals, best known for its CISSP certification. Over time, audience expectations began to shift. New, lower-cost competitors were entering the space, and ISC2 needed to evolve how it showed up online — not just as a certifying body, but as a broader resource for its members.
The existing website felt outdated and wasn’t keeping up with the needs of prospective members, current professionals, or international audiences. The goal was to modernize the platform, align it with an updated brand identity, and make it easier for users to find and explore everything ISC2 had to offer — from certifications to professional development.
Responsibilities & Key Contributions
Product Design
Led end-to-end UX/UI efforts, including journey mapping, IA restructuring, and responsive layout design.
User Researcher
Conducted interviews and surveys to understand both current and prospective members.
Design System Contributor
Helped shape typography, icons, image use, and accessibility standards.
Web Developer
Collaborated with engineers and assisted in building pages to meet deadlines.
Collaborator
Worked with over 30 stakeholders across time zones—including marketing, content, development, and leadership—and partnered with an external design agency to align on design system components and co-create key page templates, ensuring consistency across the refreshed brand.
Problem Identification
ISC2 faced three key issues:
Engagement Drop-Off
Users interacted only during certification cycles. Other valuable offerings went unnoticed.
Navigation Confusion
Information architecture was misaligned with user expectations. Labels didn’t reflect content, and member-only pages were not clearly marked.
Narrow Audience Appeal
Messaging focused heavily on advanced professionals. There was little content tailored to newcomers or career changers.
Goals
Reposition ISC2 as a holistic cybersecurity career platform
Improve IA and navigation to reduce confusion and improve task success
Make offerings more discoverable to diverse user groups
Support member retention through better content visibility
Improve accessibility, scalability, and localization readiness
Audience
Cybersecurity students and early-career professionals
Mid- to senior-level practitioners
Academic partners and workforce development orgs
Process
Discovery & Research
We began with cross-functional workshops to define KPIs, align on pain points, and assess feasibility. I worked with our in-house researcher and agency partners to:
Conduct screening surveys
Interview students, current/lapsed members, and cybersecurity professionals
Lead an independent study focused on students and newcomers to cybersecurity
Synthesize findings into user personas
Information Architecture
We began by auditing the site’s existing structure and identifying navigation pain points raised by users and stakeholders. The original architecture lacked clear pathways for different audience segments—especially for newcomers—and made it difficult to find content outside of certifications. In response, we created a new sitemap and held working sessions across departments to reimagine the site’s structure around user goals.
One major improvement was the introduction of a dedicated “Get Started” section designed specifically for those new to cybersecurity. This provided a clear entry point into ISC2’s broader offerings. We also solved a recurring issue around gated content: previously, member-only pages were not labeled, leading to frustration. We added a lock icon to clearly mark restricted pages, making the site experience more predictable.
Throughout this process, I collaborated closely with stakeholders to scope MVP1 and prioritize which pages would launch first. I regularly asked strategic questions to guide design decisions: Can this scale? Does it address key pain points? Is the messaging aligned? What needs to move to MVP2? These checkpoints helped us stay realistic about timelines while still moving the experience forward.
To support future improvements, I created a research follow-up plan and a design backlog for post-launch iterations.
Design Strategy & MVP Scoping
With a tight timeline, I prioritized scalable design decisions:
Defined MVP1 vs. MVP2 deliverables
Held stakeholder reviews to align on goals and constraints
Made UX decisions around copy, page logic, and component reuse to save time
Design System
To support the rebrand and ensure consistency across pages, we developed a scalable design system rooted in simplicity, trust, and global inclusivity. Components were built to adapt across screen sizes, languages, and content types, with accessibility refinements.
I partnered with the external design agency to align on foundational elements—typography, color, buttons, inputs—and collaborated on key page templates. This helped ensure a unified look and feel while allowing our internal team to move quickly on MVP delivery.
We also worked closely with stakeholders to make sure the system was flexible enough to support future product launches and localization efforts.
Key Design Highlights
Homepage
We repositioned the homepage to highlight more than the CISSP. Key additions included:
Entry points for students and new professionals
Quizzes and content hubs for exploration
Clear CTAs for memberships, courses, and advocacy
We placed the most relevant content higher up the page for new users, using a visual hierarchy and succinct labels to reduce decision fatigue. We also ensured responsiveness and localization-readiness to support a global user base.
Continuing Education
The original structure forced users into disjointed flows. We redesigned the section with a unified filtering experience, allowing users to browse and compare without jumping between pages. This helped users—especially those new to the platform—better understand the breadth of offerings and made course discovery more intuitive.
Old Continuing Education Page
New Continuing Education Page
Certification Details
To improve clarity and increase conversions, we surfaced key calls to action in the page header and introduced "Quick Glance" sections that highlighted eligibility, requirements, and training options. These additions helped users quickly assess whether a certification was a good fit without needing to scroll extensively or interpret dense content.
Constraints
Due to time constraints, we weren’t able to conduct full usability testing before launch. We also didn’t have time to perform tree testing, which limited our ability to fully validate the new navigation structure. Additionally, some pages planned for MVP2 had to be postponed because of development capacity.
Post-Launch
To ensure we were meeting user needs after launch, I created a testing plan and a list of research follow-ups to guide future improvements. We also established a roadmap for upcoming phases of the project, including localization efforts.
What I Learned
This project pushed me to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution. I gained a deeper appreciation for designing at scale, aligning stakeholders across continents, and making thoughtful tradeoffs in fast-moving environments.