LAMAG.COM REDESIGN 2014

Over the summer of 2014, the company that owns Los Angeles magazine and its sister publications moved all of its Web sites from Digital Suite to WordPress VIP. As a leader of the digital staff that led the effort, I was given the opportunity to re-design templates and rethink our online presence using a mobile-first approach from top to bottom.

In addition to being part of the user experience committee that worked as a corporate team, I oversaw the re-launch and redesign of LAmag.com, managing the site’s development, functionality, and design for back-end and front-end users across our editorial and business departments.

Here is how I approached key areas of the project:

Homepage before the redesign

Architecture

In the information architecture stage we learned from research and user feedback that we needed to build a strong taxonomy system so that we could better group related content and serve it throughout the site. The priority was our content, so we wanted to spend a good chunk of time on the navigation and information architecture. By doing this, it reduced development time, it gave us faster access to the platform, and it gave us a beginning start to learn the CMS for a holistic redesign in the future.

Navigation

We updated the navigation and made it more clear for returning users who already knew how to navigate through the website, but also for users who are browsing and skimming content. This also allowed us to better incorporate sales opportunities by integrating more ad units within editorial content.

Templates

To keep flexibility in how we tease and display content throughout the site, we built the CMS with a modular mindset. We designed templates that could accommodate the needs of all of the company’s magazine titles, but that also offered us an ability to distinguish each website from another. With our editorial staff in mind, we developed admin tools that were easy to use and simple to learn. In addition, we worked to standardize our ad inventory and maximize opportunities for advertisers that integrate seamlessly with editorial content.



Design

Early on the wire-frame process, we decided we wanted to keep the current look and feel of the website, so I designed and updated the UI, color, typography, and layout to give it a more modern look.

Results

Lamag.com has increased TK in unique visitors and TK increase in pageviews. Mobile traffic increased TK

Hawaii Featured Content

I built a custom widget, plus landing page that ran across the site to promote featured content from the magazine when it when live on the site

Landing page
hawaii_landing
Widget
hawaii_widget

Best of L.A. 2013

Create a landing page of the August issue in print and convert it to a web expierience. Also, create a marketing campaign that includes banner ads and newsletters | url →

Landing page: Grid viewBOLA_landing

Landing page: List viewBOLA_landing2

Homepage billboard adBOLApushdownunit

Newsletter: generalnewsletters_general

Newsletter: shopnewsletters_shop

Newsletter: donewsletters_do

Newsletter: standard adsbolaADs

tuneclout

Re-design a few sections of an existing music social web app

Discover page version 1
tunecout_5

Discover page version 2
tuneclout-discovery

Check out Page
tuneclout-checkout

232 OBJECTS

To celebrate Los Angeles 232th birthday, we built a gallery showcasing 232 objects that best represent the city through the years | url →

Grid view
objects-1

Responsive grid
displaycase_responsive

Detail view
objects-3

Newsletter campaign
displaycase_newsletter

Crime in L.A.

Design and built a landing page for a crime section in LAmag.com | url →

Landing page
crimeLanding

Homepage Billboard Ad
crimeinLA_promo980

Newsletter Campaign
crimeninla_newsletter

The Loh Down on Science

Produced a website for the radio segment “The Loh Down on Science”. You’re able to listen and create your own custom playlists on any device

Mobile

Podcast List
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Fun Content Troller
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Share a Podcast
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