The University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne
Leading a team for the digital redesign of VCA and MCM’s merger into the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
As the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music became the new home of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (MCM), it faced the challenge of unifying its digital presence across five websites. We partnered with the Faculty to understand the needs of students, staff, and partners, shaping a digital strategy, service journey, and implementation roadmap to guide the redesign—ensuring a smooth transition and a cohesive, user-centred online experience.
Role
Strategic Design Lead
Company
CX Lavender Design Agency
Location
Melbourne
“Working with the team helped us make sense of a complex transition. They really got to the heart of what our students and staff needed, and helped us bring it all together in a way that actually felt like us.
–Project stakeholder
To support the Faculty’s digital transition, we delivered a suite of strategic, research-led, and design-focused outputs.
Stakeholder interviews with students, staff, and partners
Scoping workshops to map current-state journeys and expectations
Assessment of merger objectives and impacts across key cohorts
Digital service journey mapping
Customer insights report
Digital implementation roadmap
User stories to guide feature development
Design patterns aligned with user needs
Updated information architecture (IA)
Integration of journey maps and digital assets into content planning
Uplift in human-centred and strategic design capability
Our research scope:
27 research participants
6 workshops
6 interviews
The problem
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music was undergoing a transition to become the new home of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (MCM). We partnered with the Faculty to understand the needs of students, staff, and partners, delivering customer insights, a digital service journey, and an implementation roadmap to support the redesign of their online experience across five websites.
The approach
We started by unpacking the merger’s goals to align Faculty and University objectives. Through interviews and workshops, we mapped user needs and journeys across key cohorts, exploring how digital tools could support the transition. Embedded on-site, we provided mentorship and helped integrate journey maps and content into the evolving information architecture, shaping the digital strategy as five websites moved to a unified brand.
–Student exhibition
–Synthesis
–Team retro
–Student workshop post-it note
The outcome
We delivered an MVP service journey blueprint to guide the redesign of the Faculty’s five websites, centred on the needs of key customer cohorts. A digital implementation roadmap supported the transition to an improved online experience, while user stories, design patterns, and information architecture were developed for delivery teams. We also facilitated a capability uplift in human-centred and strategic design methods, helping the Faculty strengthen its digital ecosystem and ensure future growth aligned with core value propositions.
“This project felt about more than merging websites… It was about uniting people, stories, and experiences under a unified digital identity.
–Project reflection
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