Grindstone Web Redesign
Reducing friction in user flows and crafting a mobile-responsive experience.
Timeline:
Role:
Tools:
June 2026 - August 2026
Lead product designer, developer
Figma
Wix
Visit the live site
The Challenge
Grindstone Theatre Society is an Edmonton-based theatre organization offering live performances, classes, and venue rentals. I redesigned their website to make it easier for people to discover information and complete key tasks across the site.
The existing website made some of the most important user tasks more difficult than they needed to be, primarily the class registration flow. Users had to move through a lengthy checkout flow to register for a class, creating unnecessary friction between finding a class and completing registration.
The broader site also needed a clearer information architecture. Grindstone offers a range of programs, performances, and services, so the challenge was making sure the information was easier to find.
Solution and Impact
The most measurable outcome was a 57% reduction in the number of steps in the class checkout flow, but the impact extended beyond that single journey.
The redesign:
Reduced friction in the class registration experience
Improved mobile usability for users arriving through social media
Integrated accessibility considerations based on WCAG standards
Created clearer pathways to tickets, classes, and venue rentals
Balanced user needs with organizational requirements through cross-department collaboration
Went from UX design to a deployed website, bringing the work to life
Approach
I approached the redesign by focusing on task efficiency, information architecture, responsive design, and accessibility.
Research + Insights
I analyzed the existing experience through the lens of the tasks users needed to accomplish, with particular attention to the class registration flow. Mapping the existing journey helped surface unnecessary points where users had to make additional decisions or navigate between pages.
This led to several key insights:
Users often arrive with a specific intent
The website needed to support task-oriented journeys rather than relying on users to browse and discover where information lived.
The class checkout flow had unnecessary friction
The existing journey contained more steps than were needed to complete registration. Reducing these steps presented a clear opportunity to improve task efficiency.
Mobile was a primary context, not an afterthought
With social media acting as an important acquisition channel, the mobile experience needed to support quick scanning, navigation, and interaction.
Information architecture needed to reflect user needs
The organization had a lot of content to communicate. The challenge was structuring that content around the questions and tasks users actually came to the site to accomplish.
Accessibility needed to be built into the experience
I incorporated WCAG accessibility considerations throughout the design rather than treating accessibility as a final-stage check.
Calgary Toy Library Website Redesign
A web redesign for the Calgary Toy Library focused on informing better, while adhering to existing brand guidelines.
Timeline:
Role:
1 month
Lead product designer, developer
Tools:
Figma
Squarespace
Timeline:
Role:
1 month
Lead product designer, developer
Tools:
Figma
Squarespace
Visit the live site
The Challenge
The site had issues with accessibility, mainly readability and colour contrast, with some navigation elements inaccessible to users due to low colour contrast. Text contrast made readability an issue across many pages and colours and typography didn't match the existing brand guidelines.
Solution and Impact
Not every visitor arrives with the same intent. I created a clear information hierarchy that serves everyone using the site, whether they’re existing members of the library, coming to the site to get a membership, or just looking for more information.
Approach
I started with a web audit, focusing on accessibility, user flows, and any other possible areas that hinder people from getting the information they need about the toy library.
While sketching, wireframing, and protoyping, I worked closely with the executive director of the Calgary Toy Library, to ensure my solutions were closely related to the organizations goals, prioritizing user flows related to joining the library and general information about the organization.
Web audit
Ideating
Sketching solutions
Wireframing
Mockups/Prototypes
Finish! Live site deployed :)
Visual Approach
Visual Approach
I focused on designing within the existing brand guidelines while keeping colour contrast in mind, for greater accessibility for all users and to make sure essential user flows were not compromised by inaccessible buttons or links.
I matched typography and colours to the brand identity used across socials and other internal branding, this reflects most strongly on the leadership page, to match the importance of the organizations team-led spirit.
© Beckett Heinz 2026
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The Solution
Visit the live site
57% fewer steps → simpler site → mobile-first → accessible → deployed
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© Beckett Heinz 2026