Reducing
Cognitive
Load
in
Venue
Search
[ Product Design Intern @ Cvent / B2B SaaS / 10 weeks / Search Flow Redesign ]
I redesigned Cvent Event Diagramming's venue search flow to help users find faster, scan quicker, and reduce cognitive overload.
Cvent Event Diagramming (CED) is a tool that helps event planners visualize and design event layouts.
Within it, the venue search flow allows planners to find the specific venues and floor plans they've contracted to start building their diagrams.
[ PROBLEM ]
Where things start to break down
Users struggle to locate what they needed, leading to hesitation, backtracking, and abandonment.
[ GOAL ]
What a better experience needs to do
Make venue discovery feel fast and intuitive by improving scanability, reducing cognitive load, and helping users confidently move forward.
[ DISCOVERY ]
What should be a quick search… isn't.
Event planners typically enter this flow with a specific venue already in mind—often one they’ve already contracted.
But instead of quickly finding it, they’re met with overwhelming results, unclear hierarchy, and little distinction between similar venues and floor plans.
What should be a quick search turns into a frustrating hunt.
Users know what they're looking for, they just can't find it without error.
[ METHODS ]
What I Did
Design Workshop
Led a workshop to ideate on preliminary design ideas with my team.
Datadog Session Analysis
Observed 10 user sessions to understand where users were experiencing friction.
Internal Audit
Audited Cvent's venue sourcing platform to see what planners might expect before coming to CED.
[ FINDINGS ]
What I Discovered
User feedback and observations highlighted three key areas shaping my design approach:
Navigation & Structure
Users struggled to find the venues they were looking for because the layout felt empty and confusing.
Search Efficiency
Users found searching frustrating when results were poorly organized or too overloaded, and would often abandon the search process.
Action Clarity
Users were unsure what actions were possible or what elements were clickable, which slowed their progress.
[ HOW MIGHT WE ]
How might we help planners efficiently search and find desired venues and floor plans, reduce cognitive load, and prevent abandonment of the search process?
[ EXPLORATION ]
Doodles + ideation!
Guided by these 3 key areas, I explored several early solutions through sketching and wire-framing.
I also encountered several tradeoffs, including:
[ TRADEOFF #1 ]
AI Personalization vs. Filtering Clarity
Initially explored incorporating a section to display a user's recently contracted venues for added personalization, which would involve cross-platform linking.
Due to technical ambiguity, I decided to pivot to a general AI suggested venues section.
[ TRADEOFF #2 ]
Filter Interaction Model
Initially explored multiple drop downs for different filters, but this caused too many clicks and potential cognitive overload.
Consolidated multi-option filters into one drop down, and surfaced binary toggles next to it.
[ TRADEOFF #3 ]
Saved vs. Unsaved Separation
Usability testing with 2 participants revealed that users frequently assumed the search results page ended after the first set of venues and didn’t realize additional content existed below the fold.
To address this, I consolidated Saved & Un-Saved venues into one section, while still preserving hierarchy by having Saved venues appear first.
[ FINAL SOLUTION ]
A search flow that prioritizes relevant results, boosts scanability, & improves user confidence.
Navigation & Structure
Redesigned layout to support natural scan patterns and hierarchy. Clearer flows between search results, individual venues, and floor plans.
Sections are organized top-to-bottom, with content within sections organized left-to-right
Search Efficiency
Users found searching slow and frustrating when results were poorly organized or too overloaded.
Results are limited to the most relevant to the search input
Number of results displayed is accurate and specific
Multi-option filter dropdown with relevant filters useful for searching for a specific venue
Sort options available on the venue page
Action Clarity
Users were unsure what actions were possible or what elements were clickable, which slowed their progress.
Clear call to action
Tags for quick identification and filter matches (venue brand, type, etc.)
Large image for visual venue association
Image carousel with floor plan and image of room for visual association
Relevant floor plan details
[ PROJECT KUDOS ]
Principal Product Designer @ Cvent
"Great work tying your design decisions to outcomes for the users!"
[ PROJECT KUDOS ]
Lead Product Designer @ Cvent
"Great job using the design system so well in your prototype & design. Huge win."
[ IMPACT & REFLECTION ]
This project strengthened my ability to translate user research into thoughtful design decisions in a mature product environment. I collaborated closely with product and content designers, tested and refined ideas through iteration, and learned how to balance design system constraints with meaningful usability improvements.
Huge thank you to my mentor, product team, fellow interns, and managers! :)
Built from curiosity, shaped by empathy.