“Good job, but can you design an interface that feels a little more serious?”

Throughout my career, I’ve primarily worked in industries where flashy, trendy web design is considered inappropriate—healthcare, higher education, information technology, and environmental health research. These are disciplines that deal with critical, often life-changing information. A website designed for a cancer research institution shouldn’t look like a fashion brand’s homepage. A university’s admissions portal shouldn’t feel like a tech startup’s landing page.

At the same time, these industries have a reputation for their extremely uninspired web presences.

The Problem: Serious Doesn’t Have to Mean Boring

Let’s be honest—when we think of higher education and healthcare websites, we picture something like this:

No hate to any of these institutions, but it’s fair to say these designs don’t exactly scream innovation or creativity. Instead, they tend to be:

• Overly corporate and cold
• Difficult to navigate
• Dated in both structure and aesthetics

In industries where accuracy, trust, and professionalism are paramount, playing it safe has become the default approach. But in UX design, playing it safe often results in frustrating, ineffective experiences for users.

The Challenge: Designing for Trust and Usability, Not Trends

The question I kept asking myself was:

Can we design for serious subjects without sacrificing creativity, innovation, or user-friendliness?

I believe the answer is yes—but it requires a shift in perspective. Instead of focusing on what looks serious, we should focus on what feels intuitive, human, and engaging. The goal shouldn’t be to follow trends for the sake of looking modern—it should be about solving problems for the people who use the site.

A Better Approach: User-Centered Design in Serious Industries

Instead of defaulting to the safe, corporate status quo, we should be asking:

✅ Can users find what they need quickly and easily?

• Thoughtful information architecture ensures that users—whether they’re prospective students, patients, or researchers—don’t have to dig through layers of content to find answers.
• Well-organized menus, clear headings, and meaningful calls to action all help reduce frustration.

✅ Does the content speak to real user needs?

• Many sites focus too much on internal priorities instead of what users actually care about.
• Content should be structured around their questions, not the institution’s hierarchy.

✅ Does the imagery reflect the audience?

• Generic stock photos and overly polished, corporate imagery create a sense of detachment.
• Diverse, authentic photography helps users see themselves (or their loved ones) in the stories being told.

✅ Is the experience emotionally considerate?

• Especially in fields like healthcare, users are often coming to the site during moments of fear, stress, or uncertainty.
• The design should acknowledge and respect their emotional state, offering clarity, comfort, and reassurance.

A Real-World Example: Making a Cancer Research Site a True Resource

Right now, I’m working with an institution that aims to make its website the top global resource for cancer information. They understand that achieving this goal isn’t just about publishing research—it’s about deeply understanding their audience’s needs.

So how does a website become a trusted resource for users facing something as serious as cancer?

With true empathy. Not just as a buzzword, but as the driving force behind every decision we make.

We have to put ourselves in the shoes of a patient, a caregiver, or another interested user visiting the site:

• What questions are they asking?
• How quickly can they find reliable, actionable information?
• Are they greeted with warmth, clarity, and support—or with a wall of dense medical jargon?

By designing with empathy and user needs at the center, we’re creating a site that doesn’t just look serious—it feels serious in the way that matters most: by being genuinely useful, clear, and supportive for the people who need it most.

Final Thoughts

Yes, some industries require a more restrained design approach. But that doesn’t mean their websites have to be lifeless, outdated, or difficult to use.

Designing for serious subjects means designing with serious intent—not just to look professional, but to truly serve the people who rely on these sites for critical information.

That’s where real innovation happens.