Web and Solutions Marketing Design Intern
Lenovo ISG Web and Solutions Marketing Team
July 2nd, 2024 – August 8th, 2024
The Storage Central website serves as an educational platform for Lenovo's Infrastructure Solutions Group, aimed at IT Decision Makers and Infrastructure Managers. It provides access to resources such as webinars, security solutions, and storage management tools. However, the site suffers from design inconsistencies and a cluttered user experience, limiting its effectiveness in communicating Lenovo's capabilities and engaging users.
The Storage Central website suffers from a cluttered layout, inconsistent design, and poor integration with Lenovo.com, resulting in a fragmented user experience. Key design elements do not align with Lenovo’s main website, creating a disjointed experience for users. A redesign is needed to improve navigation, visual consistency, and accessibility while ensuring seamless alignment with Lenovo.com for a unified user experience.
Align the Storage Central site with Lenovo.com for a cohesive experience and seamless integration.
Enhance user experience by addressing key areas for improvement and elevating site layout and design.
Focus on improving site navigation, readability, and user-friendly design to accommodate all users.
🔍Initial Research
👥User Needs and Personas
📊Site and Competitive Analysis
🎯Goals and Actions
🖥️Wireframes
🏁Conclusion
➮ Kicked off the project by contacting The Creation Agency, the original designer of the Storage Central website
➮ Met with the Client Delivery Director to gain insights into the original website design and user needs
➮ Goal of the meeting was to gain a deeper understanding of the users, purpose of the site, and relevant data
➮ Asked the Client Delivery Director a series of questions to guide and inform the redesign process
➮ Predominantly prospects (SMEs to Enterprises) in EMEA markets (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK DACH)
➮ Understanding Lenovo’s ISG capabilities and partner ecosystem
➮ Access to solutions for data security, storage capacity, and management
➮ Homepage (56%), Data health check quiz (6%), Webinar series and topic pages (6% and 5%)
➮ Educational, aiming to enhance brand perception beyond devices & increase demand through gated/ungated content
➮ Grow Lenovo ISG’s market share, build brand alignment, and strengthen partner relations
➮ Engage with gated content for lead follow-up and awareness
➮ Tracked via Google Analytics & UTM tracking for form completions
➮ Positive internal and external engagement with improved KPIs and high CTA response from eBlasts and newsletters
Clear overview of Lenovo’s ISG capabilities and partnerships & educational content that highlights solutions beyond devices.
Easy access to resources in multiple languages and tailored content for specific regions.
Comprehensive and clear solutions for safeguarding sensitive data against a wide range of security threats.
Detailed, in-depth information to aid ITDMs and C-suite executives in their purchasing decisions.
➮ Alignment: ITDMs are directly involved in making decisions about IT infrastructure, including data storage and management solutions. They’re interested in technologies that are relevant to Lenovo’s offerings.
➮ Concerns: ITDMs prioritize data security, storage efficiency, and scalability, which are key focuses of Lenovo Storage Central.
➮ Alignment: These managers oversee the implementation & maintenance of IT infrastructure, including storage solutions. They are interested in efficient management and performance of data systems.
➮ Concerns: Similar to ITDMs, Infrastructure Managers are concerned with data security, storage capacity, and the integration of new technologies.
➮ Hierarchy: Above-the-fold content is cluttered, with unclear CTA placement and poor use of headings.
➮ Flow Issues: Unclear interactive elements, poor search functionality, reliance on hard-to-see carousel dots.
➮ Content Organization: Suggested splitting content into sections to reduce overwhelm (e.g., Topics, Resources, Events & Case Studies, etc.)
➮ Visual Consistency: Inconsistent layout and typography across different languages, irrelevant and outdated imagery.
• Branding Alignment: Colors align with Lenovo branding but are used inconsistently. Each section of a page seems to follow a different color scheme.
➮ Content Issues: Hidden content requiring hover, redundant information, and need for clearer, concise messaging.
➮ Accessibility Concerns: Failures in WCAG contrast checker and inconsistent font size. Issues highlighted by WAVE report, including missing alt text, low contrast, and structural problems.
➮ Interested in photos? Click "View Figma File" below and see "Site Analysis Photos."
| Competitor | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo | Branding, navigation | Cluttered layout, inconsistent design |
| Dell | Accessibility, clean layout | Overwhelming content flow |
| IBM | Clear structure, effective CTAs | Low-res imagery |
| HPE | Engaging design, concise content | Repetitive layout, long videos |
➮ IBM excels in navigation and content organization with clean and well-structured UX
➮ HPE stands out for its visually engaging design and effective use of imagery
➮ Dell has strong accessibility and SEO performance but struggles with content flow
➮ Lenovo's strengths lie in branding consistency and dropdown navigation, but it faces challenges with cluttered layouts and inconsistent design elements
➮ Overall, while each competitor has its strengths, there are clear opportunities for Lenovo to improve in areas like visual consistency, content clarity, and user navigation
Goal: Ensure that the Storage Central site integrates smoothly with Lenovo.com to provide a unified user experience.
Goal: Enhance the organization and readability of content by refining its structure, ensuring users easily understand information.
Goal: Create a cohesive and visually appealing design that aligns with Lenovo’s branding.
Goal: Ensure the site meets accessibility standards and performs well across devices.
Action: Align design elements and content structure of Storage Central with Lenovo.com. Implement unified design to create a cohesive experience.
Action: Refine content layout with clear headings, effective use of white space, and well-placed CTAs. Ensure content is concise to improve comprehension.
Action: Standardize typography, improve image quality, and ensure consistent use of colors and branding elements. Address design inconsistencies to enhance overall visual appeal.
Action: Address accessibility issues such as color contrast (and alt text if possible in later development process).
➮ Aligned layout with Lenovo.com’s structure and components to ensure seamless integration
➮ Introduced a site overview section to clearly communicate Lenovo’s ISG capabilities (placeholder text shown)
➮ Structured content flow to emphasize key partnerships and educational resources
➮ Incorporated prominent CTAs for intuitive user engagement
➮ Replaced outdated and irrelevant imagery with visuals that resonate with the content.
➮ Utilized white space to improve overall user experience
➮ Aligned layout with Lenovo.com’s structure and components to ensure seamless integration
➮ Maintained consistent use of the color palette to enhance visual appeal
➮ Streamlined content by removing unnecessary elements to prioritize key information
➮ Incorporated clear CTAs for intuitive user engagement
➮ Aligned layout with Lenovo.com’s structure and components to ensure seamless integration
➮ Utilized white space to improve overall user experience
➮ Aligned layout with Lenovo.com’s structure and components to ensure seamless integration
➮ Added arrow buttons to clearly indicate that the blocks are interactive
🏆The redesign improved the overall user experience and addressed accessibility issues presented in original design.
🏆The alignment with Lenovo.com ensures a smooth integration.
📌Conduct user testing! This will help validate design decisions, identify usability issues, and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
📌Replace outdated imagery to better align with the site’s purpose and update copy for a more coherent experience.
📌Explore different types of in-page navigation that could benefit not only Storage Central, but all of Lenovo.com (sidebar nav, accordion menus, etc).