The 'Locate us' experience is a key tool in the Service NSW website, featured in the top navigation. There are a number of essential transactions that can only be completed in-person, with select locations offering niche services.
The experience is used by customers self-serving online, and staff offering advice to customers over the phone. The key stages of the journey are:
1) Search postcode or suburb
2) Results pages
3) Individual store/location pages
Pictured: the original 'Locate us' experience 🗺️
Project challenges:
The primary challenge was balancing simplicity with functionality. Since the demographic is 'all citizens of NSW' intuitive usability is a must. Customers needed to find stores quickly, but the interface also had to support different location filtering options: service centres; mobile service centres; and a new option to see disaster recovery centres. Additionally, the interface had to perform well across different devices, with particular attention to mobile users, who now make up the majority of our audience.
We soon understood that we needed to clearly: differentiate between store/location types; provide top level information early; and make it obvious how to get to a full store page - where even more detailed information could be found.
UI challenges:
The original experience revealed all locations on a map prior to any search action, which many felt was a crowded and overwhelming experience. This was especially the case on mobile devices, with map panning easily leading to a blown out iframe what was impossible to get out of.
The original experience also returned a number of location card results, but with limited information on those cards, and an unclear path to more detailed information on a store page.
Old VS New location result cards
The process of arriving at the final designs:
Over 30 user test interviews were conducted throughout the project with both customers and staff, providing invaluable feedback that shaped the final product. I was heavily involved in organising these tests, synthesising feedback, and iterating on the design based on real user input. This allowed us to address pain points early and ensure the design met user expectations.
Working closely with five other designers and many more team members—including developers, product managers, and content designers—I led the visual design effort while maintaining constant communication to ensure technical feasibility and alignment with business goals.
I developed high-fidelity prototypes and interactive mockups in Figma , which were used for stakeholder reviews, internal testing, and external user testing. This helped bridge the gap between design and development, ensuring a smooth handoff.
Key changes were:
🌎 Map not presented on first load, to highlight the search task at hand
🗺️ Full-width map views and pin clustering when presenting 'all' results for a tidy look
🗝️ A map key explaining different location pins
🖇️ Multi-link result cards to take customers directly to the information that they are looking for
📩 Share links on store pages for staff and customers to send information easily
🪄Spelling out 'Use current location' in addition to a symbol for clear geolocation options
The redesigned store location UI is currently being rolled out, with a whole new map build in progress. The feedback from staff and users during final interviews praised the intuitive design and the improved functionality across devices. The project also strengthened collaboration within the team, fostering an iterative, user-centric approach to design.
This project exemplifies my ability to lead complex, long-term design efforts while integrating user feedback and working closely with cross-functional teams.
The live product can be viewed at service.nsw.gov.au/service-centre