Harshita's Portfolio

Clearer Navigation for Businesses

We brought Business and About Us into the main navigation and created one unified global nav across the

entire site. This improved the experience in two ways –

It gave business owners an obvious place to start, without searching through the footer or confusing sections.
It kept navigation consistent across all pages, preventing users from switching mental models when moving
between visitor content and business content.

Scoped “About Us” to company/background content only.

Moved business content into a dedicated primary nav item labeled “Business”

Global navigation gives users a consistent way finding experience across the entire site.

Organized the menu into two clear groups, For Partners - aimed at new or returning users &
Engage with NYC- for business owners looking to explore opportunitites.

Elevated “Get In Touch” button because contacting NYCTourism was one of the most essential interactions users were looking for

Adding Testimonials

We introduced testimonials and success stories that demonstrate impact in a tangible way.

Added testimonials and success stories to build trust, reduce hesitation, and increase confidence in advertising with NYCTourism.

Adding Trending Searches and an Interactive Map

We introduced trending topics and a dynamic map to support faster, more intuitive exploration. For business

owners, a more exploration-led website means their listings, neighborhoods, and experiences are surfaced earlier

and more often.

We added a row of clickable trending search chips to give users an easy “way in” without having to decide everything upfront

Used map as a responsive browsing tool where results update by borough, letting users instantly see what’s nearby and how different options relate spatially.

Prioritize Exploration Before Planning on the Homepage

Our user research revealed that users wanted browse and get a “feel” of the city before committing to detailed

planning. We redesigned the homepage flow so users can first explore things and do and plan their trip after to

lean into user behavior.

Prioritized exploration content at the top before maps & guides, aligning the page with user behavior.

Placed a direct ‘Visit Website’ button on each card so users can access external attraction pages without unnecessary steps.

Added location tags to each card to help users quickly understand where events and activities take place.

Added quick time-based filters so users can browse events by immediacy and narrow their search without scrolling.

BROWSE GUIDES

REIMAGINING

NYC Tourism

Behind the curtain

🔍 Card Sorting & Tree Testing

Investigating users' unmet needs in navigation & structure

We conducted open card sorting to understand how users naturally group and label content, and followed it with tree testing

to validate whether our reorganized IA matched their mental models.

While I won't go into every detail here, I have documented my findings and analysis elsewhere. Feel free to reach out if you’re

curious about how those insights shaped the IA!

🗒 User Interviews

Understanding what current users actually need

To better understand how business owners interacted with the nyctourism site we conducted user interviews and

task-based walkthroughs with 4 participants across different industries.

Transforming notes into insights.gif

💬 Hover to see real user quotes

No Clear Starting Point

Most users didn’t even realize

they can be featured, and

when they tried, they found it

hard to figure out how.

Unclear Value &

No Metrics

Users were open to investing,

but they wanted metrics to

prove the platform is driving

real results.

Listings aren't actionable

Owners felt current listings

read like articles, not business

tools. They wanted clear

actionso interest can turn into

actual customers.

Poor Context & Curation

Users wanted their

business to appear in

curated themes that match

their brand and attract the

right audience.

How is information currently organized on NYCT?

Site & IA Audit

How do users naturally group this content?

Card Sorting

Can users find what they’re looking for?

Tree Testing

👥 Target Users

NYC Tourism serves two main groups: visitors exploring the city and local businesses showcasing their work. For this project, we focused on the business owners because:

👉 Clearer paths for them can create more opportunities

for advertising, partnerships, and revenue

👉 Increasing their participation leads to richer, more

diverse listings and experiences for visitors

📊 Competitive Analysis

Uncovering missed opportunities

By comparing features and limitations of leading tourism platforms, we uncovered opportunities to improve business

discoverability and create a more streamlined, exploration-first experience on NYC Tourism.

The market gaps and strategic direction became clear, guiding the next step for targeted design solutions

After which we came with the a single, direct path to all business actions

🔍 Rethinking the experience

Business owners had to move through multiple unrelated pages and sift through mixed content before finding any actionable information. We questioned why the business journey wasn’t treated as a single, focused flow

✰ Introduction

NYC Tourism is a platform that connects visitors to everything New York has to offer,

and gives local businesses a place to showcase what they do.

Problem @ 🖐

Local business power the experiences visitors are looking for, but the NYCTourism's structure only prioritizes visitor's POV

When business engagement is critical to the platform’s success, but the IA doesn’t reflect their needs, the burden of figuring out how to participate shifts entirely onto business owners, creating friction where there should be guidance.

🚀 Our Goal

Th high level goals that defined our decision

Make it clear and easy for business owners to understand how to get involved
Demonstrate tangible value to encourage business engagement

⚡ TLDR - Toggle between old and new designs

New

Old

Final Reflections

Meet the team!

This redesign is just the starting point, a version 1 that lays the groundwork for what the NYCTourism business experience can become.

With more time, I’d explore metric-tracking tools and ways to help businesses see their visibility on the platform in real time. I’m excited to imagine how these features could evolve in the next iteration

My Next Steps

our team logo 🫶

Say hello!

My spidey-sense says we’d get along ;)