GSDM.COM
Reimagining an outdated agency website to restore brand personality
Project Brief
By 2023, GSD&M’s site no longer reflected the agency’s creative energy, breadth of work, or forward-thinking positioning.
Following strategy and discovery sessions with key stakeholders, our team initiated a phased redesign to re-establish GSD&M’s online presence. The goal: create a bold, modular website that celebrates the agency’s personality, improves usability, and positions GSD&M as an industry leader to both clients and prospective talent.
Live site: gsdm.com
Success Metrics
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Refresh the brand’s online identity with a modern visual identity
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Improve navigation, hierarchy, and content structure
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Build a flexible design system to support ongoing content growth
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Ensure accessibility and scalability for a broad, diverse audience
The Process
01
Discovery
We began with in-depth stakeholder interviews and a content audit to understand GSD&M’s goals, audiences, and brand differentiators. Through this process we redefined the brand's core personality traits.
02
UX Design
First we restructured the site map to better serve our two core audiences: prospective clients and potential talent. This included reworking content flow on the Homepage and About pages, and defining new templates for Recent Work, Case Studies, and Capabilities. We also added a DE&I page to feature company initiatives and pro bono work.
Original vs. proposed site map
03
System Design and Application
I developed a design system in Figma, defined a clear photography style, and worked with our internal dev team to migrate existing content and launch the new site.
3.1 User Interface
The new design system included:
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Typography hierarchy + styles
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Color palette + color usage guidlines
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Elements including buttons, links, icons, tags, and iconography
Updated typography & color palette
Button and link systems
Iconography for varied uses throughout the site
3.2 Site Design and Development
The newly established design system was then used to construct site pages including the about page, work and case studies, capabilities, careers, and news. I then worked hand in hand over the course of 3 months with our development team to launch the site.
Capabilities module with close/open state variants and on-page annotations
Side-by-side view of homepage for desktop and mobile with annotations
Project card module live on homepage
Home, Work, Careers, and Contact page
Results & Reflection
The redesigned site now reflects GSD&M’s brand DNA and successfully showcase agency work and culture with greater variety and storytelling. The updated navigation, hierarchy, and modular system have improved the experience for prospective clients and talent. Developing the website in-house ensured design fidelity through every phase, resulting in a stronger, more cohesive final product.
Challenges
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Coordinating with a large internal team with diverse stakeholder expectations
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Designing and building entirely in-house with limited bandwidth and tight timelines
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Managing extensive rounds of revisions to align with evolving content priorities
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Adding English-to-Spanish translation support for broader accessibility
Original
Wireframe
Final Design
