NIH MedlinePlus magazine is a free quarterly publication that serves to provide consumers with trusted up-to-date health and medical information, including highlights on the latest medical research and healthcare information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through featured stories, the magazine provides a window into how real people handle their health challenges. The personal viewpoint offered by the magazine makes it a worthy companion to MedlinePlus, a NIH website for patients and their families and friends to learn more about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues. The magazine is produced by NIH, National Library of Medicine, and the Friends of the National Library of Medicine (FNLM).

One of the main challenges users experienced before the redesign was navigating to specific articles. The site also lacked the feel and experience of reading a magazine. Utilizing our experience in design and expertise in usability, Astriata created a new way to organize the publications for a better user experience.

To better support the visitors to the website, Astriata and the staff of NLM-APDB worked together to design and develop a prototype that would enhance the user’s overall experience through an engaging and user-friendly interface. Taking the print magazine beyond text and leveraging different types of media such as video, interactives, and animation enhanced the engagement for users. Usability testing was an important part of the redesign process and provided measurable results to make informed decisions to improve the user experience.