Emagister
Design and Usability Manager
Barcelona, 2011-2013
Emagister is one of the internet's leading education and training directories, with 11 country websites, over a million courses and around 2 million visitors per month on average throughout the year.
My role
For two years, I managed the company's brand repositioning and redesign, taking on the creative direction, interface design and usability management in-house, working within the Product team.
Starting with a new brand positioning centered around the value of education in its broadest sense, the company's new graphic identity was then developed and applied throughout all the company's products.
The redesign project involved a complete overhaul of all pages of the site, with significant changes in layout, main elements and functionalities and major improvements in usability.
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Brand positioning
Following extensive research and inspired in particular by Jacques Delors' Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, Learning - The Treasure Within, the following core positioning statement was arrived at:
The value of education is to enable each of us, without exception, to develop our talents to their full extent and to realise our intellectual and creative potential, empowering us to take responsibility for our own lives, achieve our personal objectives and with them our well-being.
Emagister exists to help all its users achieve the results they expect from their education and training, understanding their circumstances and aspirations, accompanying them in their journey and celebrating the value of education for them and society as a whole.
– Emagister brand positioning
The process of arriving at the brand positioning involved going from higher, general statements about the value of education generally for both people and society, down to a user's more immediate experience of it.
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Graphic research
A new logo, typography, colour scheme and other brand elements were arrived at after a thorough process which involved naming analysis and typographical research by Will Brady, Katharina Klodt and myself.
Rather than hire a branding agency, I decided to manage the process myself. We booked this flat and asked Will Brady to work alongside in-house designer Katharina Klodt and myself for three weeks.
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Early typographical investigation revealed a problem with the word itself...
...which led to a typographic, icon-less approach:
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New identity
The new logo incorporates a colon. The idea is for it to draw attention away from itself and towards whatever comes next, be it a heading, search box or search results.
The new colour palette is conspicuous for its subdued tones and lack of blue, keeping the brand far from the kind of bright colours typically seen in many internet brands.
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Brand activation
To bring the brand to life, a series of illustrations were commissioned, which used an inspirational phrases based on the values behind the brand positioning.
The phrases were written to coincide with the most important moments of interaction between users and the brand, enhancing the user experience and increasing engagement, while staying within the brand's philosophy.
The illustrations were directed both to web users and education centers, centering on the themes of learning and teaching, respectively.
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Email redesign
Many of the key moments between the brand and its users and clients take place via email.
The brand positioning is thus put into action, showing empathy to the reader and encouraging engagement.
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Website overhaul
The redesign project involved a complete overhaul of all pages of the site, with significant changes in layout, main elements and functionalities and major improvements in usability.
Home page
The new homepage still relies on large scale photography rather than illustrations. These are shown to produce better behavioural results from users.
Course listing
The course listing page involved intensive information architecture and subtle interaction design to accommodate the wide variety of data that can appear in any one item, while maintaining a consistent appearance and experience.
Course page
The single most important strategic redesign item was the course page.
Every data item's presentation and position was reconsidered and new, interactive elements used to achieve the best possible usability. It represents the biggest improvement in user experience.
User account
It might not look like much, but this was one of the biggest improvements to the site.
For the first time, users' subscriptions –always related to the subjects they are interested in– are easy to find, understand and manage.
Course review page
Asking the user to share his or her opinion, with the help of a little visual empathy...
...and showing the company's appreciation, with a smile.
