I was the UI/UX lead for my employer’s first major website redesign since its founding. We had grown tremendously over the prior few years and needed a website to reflect that growth to all of our stakeholders. At the same time, it was an “old” new project, meaning that the redesign was always a goal for the company, but client work took precedence more often than not. Several teams over the years had contributed to the would-be design and functionality of the new site, so project mock-ups lacked continuity in some combination of design, content, and structure.

I was tasked with reconciling the plans and approaches that led to the most recent consensus regarding design and functionality. I reviewed legacy notes, mock-ups, consulted with the marketing strategist, and co-worked with the project team whenever feasible. Although most page templates had already established a somewhat consistent visual design plan, not all pages were mobile-friendly.

I typically use a “mobile first” approach for content and structure, but for this project I had to improvise. I held multiple UX review meetings during which I led in-depth wireframe walk-throughs and pitched higher stakes solutions or updates. I focused on working through engagement patterns and scenarios to test the UX flow and flexibility of key UI elements. I also prioritized a simple, intuitive information architecture to provide the scent of information to aid navigation. Finally, I shared an iteratively-modified cheat sheet that incorporated branding and color styles. I that I initially used the guide to document of the rules clarifying UI features and functions. Later, these guidelines were used to create our company’s official web and marketing style guides.