Architecting the framework for a cohesive ecosystem of brands under one (digital) roof.
BAYER CONSUMER HEALTH | DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
How might we develop a unified ecosystem that encourages creativity?
The Challenge
After years of disconnected digital systems, Bayer Consumer Health needed to consolidate all of their brands onto a single platform, updating outdated experiences and enforcing consistency from Afrin to Zegerid. But the brands wanted to stand out: from their competitors, and each other.
Our Solution
By migrating all sites to a single platform, we not only ensured back-end consistency, but I used the opportunity to lead a team through meaningfully auditing each brand experience: optimizing for SEO, refreshing visual identities, and updating to modern accessibility standards.
The Results
As testament to the strong relationships we formed and our excellence in delivery, we secured a $700,000 retainer to support 2.0 updates throughout the following year.
Key Contributions
Design Systems
Collaboration with Multi-discipline Team
Development Liaison
Creative Direction
Stakeholder/Client Management
Process Development
Tools
Figma
Sketch
Invision
Drupal
The Process
Partnering with platform developers, I led a lean team of experience designers through auditing master sites and recommending key components for build. We considered core elements, such as product detail pages, as well as flexible containers where video, content, or interactive elements could be layered. As we built out the component library, our first reimagined sites came to life.
Getting into the Details
While the development team got underway on an atomic build, my team shifted to intaking brand-specific needs. Collaborating with brand managers and their e-commerce teams, we migrated existing sites onto the new platform, developing sitemaps and wireframes, overhauling colors, interactions, alt text and metadata to serve accessibility needs, and updating to new brand identities along the way.
Click to enlarge ⤴
Iteration Makes Perfect
The scale of this project made it inherently arduous, as we designed 28 sites onto a consolidated platform. Working with a team of three experience designers living through the first year of lockdown, I invested in the team's morale, identifying opportunities for animation, content, and UI design, and planned project breaks into the process to give them a chance to come back to the work renewed.
“I learned the most from you here. You created space for me to try new things, and you were always willing to work with me as I figured it out.”
From project intake to QA to launch, my team created work with creativity, integrity, and consistency, launching 28 sites in 18 months. As the initial wave of work came to an end, the partnership I had built with our client turned into an always-on retainer, keeping us in the room as the ecosystem grew.
Planning for 2.0
Throughout this process, we maintained a running list of features that would enhance the platform: from sequential form fields to dynamically-populated content. I worked in tandem with the lead development team to introduce new features into the pipeline where they made sense. As the work transitioned into an always-on state, we continued to enhance sites on a brand-specific basis, using our working knowledge of the design system and our expertise in their brands to create impactful experiences.
