About our award
We established our UX Award in 2020 to recognize publishers and library systems vendors that have developed the best user experience and journey to their content and services. Our goal through this yearly award is to inspire online library service vendors to invest resource in good UX design and make access to knowledge as easy as possible for end users.
This is the sixth year of our UX Award. Previous winners include: Cambridge University Press (2024), Sage Publishing (2023), De Gruyter (2022), nkoda (2021) and Emerald Publishing (2020).
Who can apply?
Online library service vendors of all sizes including, but not limited to:
Publishers
Library systems
Research and analytics tools
Webinar recording: Why publishers are focusing on user experience
Now available on- demand
Want to hear more about why publishers are focusing more on delivering a positive user experience and how they do it? Watch our webinar recording to find out more!
In this webinar, previous winners of our UX Award will discuss how a focus on UX design has positively impacted their business, customers and end users. As part of this, our guest speakers will discuss the login experience and access to knowledge. We’ll also touch on quick wins, key success measures and future plans.
Speakers:
- Rubem Barbosa-Hughes, head of user experience, Cambridge University Press
- Alan Maloney, head of user experience, Sage
- Fabian Riek, head of user experience, De Gruyter Brill
Our 2025 award finalists
Our judges have chosen the three finalists for the 2025 UX award! They are eLife, Cambridge University Press and MyFrontiers. Congratulations to our three finalists!
Find out more about their applications:
eLife
In 2023, eLife launched a new publishing model that ends the accept/reject decision after peer review and focuses instead on the public review and assessment of preprints.
Usability testing of the first papers published in this model – called Reviewed Preprints – showed that many readers still assumed they were revised and “accepted” before publication, and it wasn’t easy to tell the difference between versions.
Surveys and prototype testing led to improved communication of the status and version of article pages. They helped with making the public reviews and Assessments easier to find, and information about the model easier to understand.
Cambridge University Press
The new navigation and information pages design for our Cambridge Core and Higher Education platforms showcase our commitment to providing an intuitive, enhanced experience when browsing our portfolio of academic journals, books, and resources for higher education and research.
In response to user feedback and UX research, we overhauled the information architecture, ensuring a streamlined structure across both platforms. Our in-house Design System ensures a consistent experience as users navigate between them, while our truly holistic, user-centred approach supports teams with CMS assets encapsulating accessibility and design best practices, ensuring a sustainable delivery of high standard experiences.
MyFrontiers
MyFrontiers 2.0 changed the way a user interacts with Frontiers. Researchers now have a comprehensive overview of all manuscripts they are authoring, editing or peer-reviewin. Beyond that, researchers can explore opportunities to participate in publishing projects in their area of expertise. The platform provides intuitive navigation and reduces reliance on emails, enhancing efficiency and engagement. Continuous feedback from interviews, surveys, and data drives iterative updates, ensuring the platform aligns with user needs. This user-centered approach empowers researchers to seize opportunities and contribute effectively.
UX Award finalists webinars
We have curated a playlist of previous UX award webinars so you can catch up on the previous winners and finalists and learn about user experience.
Our 2025 award judges
- Natasha Den Dekker, lead user researcher, Santander
- Jason Griffey, director of strategic initiatives, NISO
- Joshua Wier, programmer and analyst, GALILEO
- Heather Staines, publisher outreach, SeamlessAccess
What is the process?
We are reviewing our UX Award process for 2026. Stay posted for details!
How to apply
Award criteria
We’ll provide more details but these criteria are broadly what we’re looking for:
- Evidence of user experience research.
- Demonstrate good user experience design.
- Tangible evidence of stakeholder engagement (including learners and researchers)
- Demonstrate an improved simple, seamless user journey.
- Provide a statement of compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines and evidence of how your product has been adapted for a diverse range of users.
- Define user experience goals and objectives, and explain how you measured success.
- Evidence how a user experience approach was strategically adopted and embedded across the organization.
- Describe your future plans for user research and how a user experience approach has been embedded in product development.
Register interest for UX award 2026
Think you could win our 2026 UX Award? Register interest in the award now!
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Any queries?
Please contact Jane Charlton, senior marketing manager – community and content at OpenAthens.