Background

Mondadori is the largest publishing company in Italy, under direction of Fininvest holding (president Barbara Berlusconi). Mondadori Digital Unit has a dozen of web portals and millions of unique visitors. 

Research

The research started with the heuristic evaluation of existing Mondadori websites, analysis of the data from Google analytics and marketing data, analysis of the Content Management System, interviews with editors and other stakeholders, benchmark analysis of competitors websites and search for best practices.

Standardizing UX

After research stage we started off designing a standard design system for Mondadori assets. It wasn’t only about layout structure, the redesign considered navigation, interaction patterns and processes like registering, commenting, login, social functionalities etc. 

Users

There were two types of users we were designing for: the editors who were posting articles and other content through CMS, and the users of the web portals. It was especially challenging to design a solution that would match everyone’s needs.

Grid System and Page Layout

The 12 column grid system was chosen and a standardized layout was defined: the standard placement for ads, logo, subscription promotion, search box and other header elements, social functionality elements, login and register buttons, footer etc. Standard structural layouts were designed for all levels of navigation. 

Content blocks

After analyzing 8+ websites of Mondadori, 20+ competitor websites and interviewing editors of several Mondadori’s online magazines we designed standard content blocks for all types of content, that would fit current and future editors' needs.

Documentation

We produced a manual which described how different functionality blocks should be structured and act, how different processes like login/registration and social functionalities should work. The Wireframe Manual was uploaded to client's intranet system for easy access by all employees.

Prototyping and UI design

The Mondadori Wireframe and Donna Moderna projects were running in parallel and "feeding" each other. Therefore elements from the Wireframe project could be directly tested in a real product. The research findings from one project helped the other project and vice versa. Later on we also redesigned one of the largest news portals Panorama.it and Mondadori’s subscriptions website Abbonamenti.it.  

The Outcome

The adoption of the standard structure, elements and processes enabled faster and failure-proof design of future Mondadori’s websites. The Wireframe System was adopted by 5+ Mondadori’s assets.