ESA Science

Redesigning the European Space Agency's Science Directorate web interface to be a trustful and engaging source of information for learning about space science.

09/2023 to 09/2025

UX Designer & Project Coordinator

Service design

The initial given brief was : simply reimagine the web architecture of ESA's ageing and messy Science platform

As time would tell, this was merely the starting point..

Approach & process

Double diamond: sequence of diverging and converging thinking phases to ensure the most suited solution is developed to solve the actual problem

Although not linear, these are the key steps of my process:

In the discovery phase, I immersed myself in ESA's ecosystem, travelling beyond the given project scope.

1.

individual interviews with each stakeholder for building trust and engagement

surveys shared on current platforms to collect user data and insights

benchmark of websites from other actors of the space industry

Space exploration

Euclid's view of spiral galaxy IC 342. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA

Project scope alignment

2.

With the research insights, I listed the current issues and defined the project goals, elements and requirements. I also convinced ESA's Management to review the initial scope leading to a more costly and complex project but more sustainable on the long-run.

User journey map, user personas, stakeholders map and prioritisation, pro's and con's visual for possible solutions

Navigating ESA's new Science platform should feel like a school field trip : curious, effortless, fun and rewarding.

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3.

In the development phase, I facilitated collaborative workshops for co-designing ideas with users and stakeholders, navigating their diverging interests and first-time exposure to participatory approaches.

with the cohort of scientists responsible for ESA's space science missions

Co-creation with actors

with leaders, strategy officers and decision makers

Wireframing & testing

I developed wireframes to make co-designed ideas tangible and testable, ultimately shaping both the web architecture and visual direction. The final UI design was carried forward by Nicolas Toro.

4.

Launch coordination

In the second phase of development, I coordinated a team of developers and designers whilst playing the role of interface between ESA's Management, the Strategy Office and the team.

5.

6.

Pilot delivery

As the development of the complete platform is on-going, a full performance evaluation remains to be done. Some qualitative insights were gathered during the testing phase.

Evaluation :

ESA's new Science interface – science.esa.int – unanimously engages and retains visitors whilst offering a more sustainable way of maintaining the platform by combining ESA's science web ressources into one.

Results :

"We will miss your unparalleled design vision and uniquely collaborative creative approaches. I have certainly learnt a lot of new skills and useful tricks thanks to you!"

- project collaborator and astrophysicist

"You have impressively managed to streamline the inputs of many individuals and have carefully yet decisively guided us to the light. Your novel ideas and dedication were unmatched, and they were key to the success that you created. It was a great pleasure working with you!"

- project collaborator and astrophysicist

Reflection & learnings

• conduct a project first in autonomy, then coordinating a 4-member multidisciplinary team

• take initiatives, think outside-the-box, show leadership

• understand and execute strategic direction

• be the first designer at ESA and teach design thinking

Raceclocker was my very first design project, through which I discovered the double diamond approach. It also demanded us to deliver high-quality reports on our process and design decisions. The latter was the most challenging for me.

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