Less Text, More Activations: Redesigning the Multi-Factor Authentication Page


Client	Masaryk University — IT MUNI, the multi-factor authentication page of the university’s Unified Login
My role	designer — analysis of the original page, design of structure, content and interface, prototype
Brief	increase adoption of multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Scope	1 day, an interactive prototype for the university’s internal use
Original page	IT MUNI — Multi-factor authentication (in Czech)
Deliverable	a prototype of the redesigned page in the style of the IT MUNI website — open the prototype

The brief

The goal was simple: get more people at the university to actually activate multi-factor authentication. The page meant to explain it and walk people through setup was getting in its own way.

The problem

The original page is reference documentation. It has over a thousand words and mixes roughly eight topics in a single flow: setting up codes (TOTP), Windows Hello, a phone as an additional device, macOS, Linux, losing a device, a known issue with Microsoft Teams, and support. The right solution for a specific person is buried among everything that doesn’t concern them.

The biggest issue was orientation. Someone who arrived with one question — “how do I turn this on?” — first had to work out which part of the text was for them. On top of that, some important instructions lived only in videos and images, and the same thing was named three different ways in the text (“verification codes,” “login codes,” “TOTP”). For a service people switch on voluntarily and ideally as quickly as possible, that’s a risk: whoever gets lost at first glance never activates MFA.

The decision

One main decision drove everything else: reduce cognitive load by cutting text. I didn’t ask what the page could say, but how much of it a person needs to take the first step.

Start with the benefit, not the description. The intro says “Your data at MUNI is safe. With multi-factor authentication.” and offers two actions: I want to activate MFA and How does it work? People immediately know what’s in it for them and what they can do.
Why MFA, in three sentences. Three cards (STOP phishing, Privacy protection, A modern university standard) with one sentence each replace explaining terminology.
Setup as a short path. Four steps (Sign in, Choose a method, Set up, Finish) with a “Step 1 of 4” indicator and one sentence per step. The Windows, macOS and Linux tabs stayed so people reach their own platform directly.
Guides by situation. Instead of a long list of links, a filter: How to set up MFA, Signing in on devices, Lost device, FAQ.
Help at the end. Support contacts sit in three clear cards, not scattered through the text.

The constraint: working inside an existing identity

I didn’t invent a new look. I used MU’s available assets, the unified visual style, existing components and the tone of voice. The prototype therefore looks like part of the IT MUNI website: the header, navigation, footer, chat and the orange banner with the current notice all stayed. The structure and the amount of text changed, not the identity. That makes the redesign realistic and deployable without a new design system.

What I knowingly gave up

Shorter text means fewer details. TOTP, Windows Hello and backup codes no longer appear in the main flow, and the “Set up” step points to on-screen instructions. It’s a deliberate trade: the basic path is clear, and depth can be requested by those who need it (alternative methods, lost device, FAQ). But the prototype doesn’t yet show all of that depth, and it would need to be verified where the line is beyond which shortened text starts to confuse people.

What I’d do differently next time

This redesign is a hypothesis, not a proven result. The brief was to increase adoption, but I didn’t test the prototype with users and I have no baseline numbers, so I’m not claiming it raised adoption. One day was enough to produce a clear design, not to validate it.

Next time I’d start with measurement and end with a test:

find out the baseline adoption and where people drop off during setup,
run a short test with a few people from the target groups (students, staff) on the task “activate MFA,” comparing the original and the new design,
and explicitly check whether the shortened steps leave people lacking exactly where I left out details.