Zalando
How to break the system
The masthead on the Zalando homepage had millions of daily views,
The problem? It had a click-through-rate approaching 0. Nobody was engaging with it.
It looked something like this:
Identifying the problem
The masthead followed the design system that unified the CX, guiding users without disrupting their flow..
But this was a billboard disguised as a masthead.
Its design was at odds with both its intent and content.
It had to stand out, arouse curiosity, while still feeling like a part of the brand experience.
Designing for impact
Applying advertising principles to CX design, we created a bold new system.
Transforming the masthead into a flexible, scalable, high-performing asset.
By catching attention, driving interest, and showing category benefits in new ways.
Creating a new system
We took apart the design system, isolating it to 3 essential elements — headline, image and CTA.
Then, we redesigned each element to make it bolder, more impactful and distinct at a glance.
Finally, we put them together to create a new system - simple, scalable and designed to intrigue.
Setting up for scale
CX content was usually designed to explain things or guide users. We needed to excite them.
So, we created a guide to use the elements in new ways – for any product category, in any region, by any business unit who wanted to be featured on it.
Banners to billboards
Homepage to the world
By updating the CTA format, we extended the same principles to create a distinctive platform for digital ads.
