AI Chip Manufacturer Brand Launch Project
Performed research to understand how decision-makers navigate pages on a semiconductor website.
Senior UX Researcher | 30 Weeks | Qualitative Research | 2025
The Business Needs
This semiconductor company enlisted our team of designers, one content strategist, and one researcher to create dozens of marketing pages ahead of their AI chip brand launch. My research focused on understanding the needs of their target audience (e.g., technical business decision-makers), evaluating iterative design concepts, and examining the information architecture and navigation layout across the website.
My Research Process
1. Assess Semiconductor Competitive Landscape
I started by shadowing the designers’ and content strategist’s inquiry on our client’s competitors. Consequently, I adjusted the round one research plan to better fit the project’s constraints.
2. Conduct Round One Research (IDIs)
To get alignment on our client’s ongoing web strategy and priorities, I first planned 13 IDIs for 60-minutes with B2B business decision makers within the IoT, Networking, and Infrastructure segments. I tested several navigation reorganization options and uncovered insights for category refinement.
3. Conduct Round Two Research (IDIs)
Following the client strategy workshop, I planned 10 IDIs for 60-minutes with Internet of Things Solutions decision makers. Our objectives were to collect feedback from users on their IoT Solutions web experiences and to understand where navigation and narrative could be improved.
4. Conduct Round Three Research (Unmoderated Usability Testing)
After testing and iterating on page concepts, the team required further clarification on two primary navigation design explorations. We explored user expectations and reactions to top-level navigation, product categorization, industry jargon, and new page concepts. This unmoderated study was conducted using Dscout Express its data was later analyzed using NotebookLM as a thought partner.
Impact and Outcomes
I helped move the needle by being a research advocate and thought leader, taking a holistic view with the client’s requests, and providing evidence and actionable recommendations for each design phase. Each round of research was followed by a Topline Insights Report created in Figma alongside video highlight clips, and was presented to the client teams. Round one research insights were used as an anchor point for the design strategy workshop and the following rounds were used as key artifacts for the impending brand launch. The brand launched their new offering in Summer 2025.
Reflections
This multi-month project involved a rotating team of designers, a content designer, a project manager, and several sub-teams laddering up to the primary client team. To say there were a lot of moving parts would be an understatement. Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with the design director to ensure the focus of each round of research had maximum impact (e.g., covering enough ground across pages, adding value to sub-teams, and asking the right questions).
We pivoted several times, specifically when we were presented with new research material and marketing personas from a partner agency, when it became difficult to recruit candidates who met the expected criteria, when the team strongly backed their own hypotheses, and when we experienced changes in the launch date.
These instances informed the resulting research and led me into a new era of research strategy and thought leadership.
