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Corporate Blog Facelift

Redesign an existing blog so that it's less distracting and easier to read.

Marketing Design

By:

George Little

ChatGPT

February 27, 2023

Project Brief

Cisco is a large technology company that sells networking equipment, telecommunications equipment, and other high-tech products. You have been given a project by the marketing director at Cisco to analyze and redesign their corporate blog website. The current blog website has five different blogs, but it is difficult to navigate, visually distracting, and relies too much on stock images.

The blog website, which hosts five different blogs, is in dire need of visual and structural rethinking. During an internal meeting discussing the issues, it was noted that the issues with the current layout and design are:

it visually distracting, making it difficult for readers to focus,
its difficult to navigate and understand which article belongs to which blog,
there's an overuse of bright colors and stock imagery.

It was decided during the meeting that the blog index page, along with a few other pages (specified below) will need to be redesigned.

Additionally, you've been asked to rethink the way blog visitors navigate through the site. Due to the complexity of the current blog website, the marketing director has first asked you to create a navigational sitemap to help stakeholders better understand how blog visitors find new articles or drill-down by category or specific region.

The primary task at hand is to redesign a handful of critical pages including the blog's homepage, individual blog homepages (one for each blog), a 'category' page, and an individual blog post template. These pages should be designed using a common system that allows blog visitors to easily navigate to other related articles.

Trademark Disclaimer: The brands featured on this site are for educational and reference purposes only and are not affiliated with creativebriefs.xyz. Any events, products, brand-names, or marketing strategies are completely fictitious and don't reflect opinions or strategies of the featured brand.

Reference Video

Reference Images

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IMAGE CREDITS
Feature Images: Catnix

Target Audience

Cysco's Audience

Description:

Cisco's target audience is diverse and can encompass a wide range of individuals, organizations, and businesses. However, as a leading provider of networking equipment, telecommunications equipment, and high-technology services and products, the primary focus of Cisco's target audience is typically on enterprise customers, such as large corporations, government agencies, and other organizations that require advanced technology solutions. This target audience typically includes IT decision-makers, network administrators, and other technical professionals who are responsible for the implementation and maintenance of large-scale technology systems. Additionally, Cisco's target audience can also include smaller businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations that require technology solutions but on a smaller scale. Ultimately, Cisco's target audience is defined by a need for high-quality, reliable, and innovative technology solutions to support their operations and growth.

Age:

26+

Language:

Global, English Is Fine

Description:

Age:

Language:

Stuff To Create

Below is a list of suggested deliverables that could be created.

Sitemap or Navigational Diagram

Sitemaps are usually presented as a visual representation, often as a flowchart or tree-like structure, that provides links to all of the pages on a website.

Should indicate what's included on the Nav Bar
Should indicate how a user movers between pages

Blog Website Mockups

The new blog design needs to consider the following:

Layouts need to work well on desktop and mobile devices
The blog needs to be easy to navigate and easy to read
The styling and layout needs to align with Cysco's corporate brand guidelines
The design should consider localization abilities, like language selection.
Blog visitors need the ability to search and filter by topic or category

Pages to include:

Primary Corporate Blogs Homepage
Individual Blog Homepages
Category or Tag Pages
Blog Post Template (the blog post itself)

helpful bits

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Typical Website Breakpoints

Well designed websites need to consider many devices and screen widths. In order to show stakeholders what a website will look like on a desktop or laptop, tablet, and mobile device, designers typically use "breakpoints" for each group.

Wide Desktop: > 1281px
Standard Desktop: 992px - 1280px
Tablet: 991px - 768px
Mobile Landscape: 767px - 480px
Mobile Portrait: < 479px

Designing a Blog

Keep it simple and clean: A clutter-free design with a simple color palette and readable fonts can make your content more engaging.
Use white space: Utilizing white space can help make your content more readable and reduce visual clutter.
Make it responsive: Your blog should be designed to look good on different devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
Use high-quality images: Good quality images that are relevant to your content can make your blog more visually appealing.
Use a clear and easy-to-read font: A font that is easy on the eyes and legible can help make your content more readable.
Use headings and subheadings: Organizing your content with headings and subheadings can make it easier to read and improve the user experience.
Include social media sharing buttons: Adding social media sharing buttons can help your readers easily share your content on their own social media channels.
Use calls-to-action: Encouraging your readers to take action, such as subscribing to your blog or leaving a comment, can help increase engagement.

Stuff To Practice

Each creative brief is crafted to help you refine some crucial abilities and skills of any marketing or brand designer.

Attention To Detail

Attention to detail is a critical aspect of design as it ensures that all content and details from the copy are captured accurately. This not only helps to clearly communicate the intended message, but also builds trust with clients or stakeholders. Neglecting attention to detail can negatively impact the brand's integrity and create a less professional, less effective marketing campaign.

Following Brand Guidelines

Following brand guidelines means adhering to established rules for creating and implementing all visual and written elements of a company's brand. This ensures consistency and accuracy in presenting the brand, building recognition, trust and a professional image with customers.

Ideation & Execution

Ideation & Execution refers to the process of coming up with creative ideas and then turning those ideas into actual designs. For a marketing designer, ideation & execution is a critical aspect of their role as they must not only generate creative ideas but also bring them to life in a way that effectively communicates the intended message and meets the needs of the target audience.

Type Pairing & Styling

Type pairing & styling refers to the selection and combination of different fonts and styles in a design. For a marketing designer, type pairing & styling is an important aspect of design as it helps create a visual hierarchy and reinforce the intended tone and message of the design. The right type pairing & styling can make a design more impactful and memorable, helping to engage and inform the target audience.