The Diallo Group, LLC Website Redesign
- Joy Widger
- Dec 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 22
My role: UX/UI Designer & Graphic Designer
Tools: Figma, Elementor (WordPress), Monday, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom
Project Overview
The Diallo Group (TDG), a forward-thinking federal contractor specializing in digital transformation, had a significant problem: their outdated website was failing to reflect the quality and professionalism of their work. The legacy site was not only visually dated but also lacked clear information architecture, making it difficult for prospective clients, particularly those in federal government roles, to understand TDG's services and core values. Our primary goal was to completely overhaul their digital presence, delivering a modern, responsive website that elevated the brand's credibility and improved usability for a high-stakes audience.
Design Challenges
This project came with two key constraints that required a flexible and strategic approach:
Time Constraints:
The project had an accelerated timeline, so we needed a lean, agile process that could deliver a high-quality result without compromising on a user-centric approach.
No Formal User Research:
Without the time or budget for extensive user interviews, I had to find a creative way to ground the design in user needs. I relied heavily on stakeholder expertise and UX best practices to fill this gap.
My Design Process
1. Stakeholder Discovery
To compensate for the lack of formal user research, I conducted in-depth interviews with the TDG leadership team and subject matter experts. This helped me to:
Identify User Personas: We defined two key user groups—government contracting officers and commercial project managers—and their primary motivations and pain points.
Map Key User Journeys: We determined that the most critical user flows were finding specific service offerings and contacting the company to request a bid. I used these insights to prioritize content and navigation.
2. Heuristic Evaluation
I performed a heuristic evaluation of the legacy website to identify its core usability issues. This audit revealed critical problems:
Lack of Clarity: The navigation was inconsistent, and key information was buried in cluttered, text-heavy pages.
Poor Mobile Optimization: The site was not responsive, leading to a frustrating experience for users on mobile devices.
Outdated Visuals: The visual design was not aligned with TDG's brand as a modern, innovative firm.
3. Design System Creation:
To ensure consistency and future scalability, I built a comprehensive design system from scratch. This system included:
Typography: A clear typographic hierarchy for headings, body text, and calls to action.
Color Palette: An updated, professional color scheme that maintained brand identity while improving accessibility.
UI Components: A library of reusable components like buttons, forms, and icons to create a cohesive user experience.
4. Wireframing and Prototyping:
I began the design process with low-fidelity wireframes to quickly establish the site's structure and layout. I then built a high-fidelity, interactive prototype in Figma. This allowed me to:
Test and Iterate Quickly: I shared the prototype with stakeholders for rapid feedback, which allowed us to refine the user flow and content hierarchy early in the process.
Prioritize Accessibility: I focused on creating responsive layouts that would work seamlessly across devices and paid close attention to accessibility standards, such as sufficient color contrast and intuitive navigation.
Key Outcomes
The new website successfully addressed all of the initial challenges and delivered significant improvements:
Modern Interface: The sleek, mobile-first design dramatically improved the site's visual appeal and usability, better reflecting TDG's expertise.
Enhanced User Experience: The new design transformed the user experience by addressing previous pain points. Reorganizing content and establishing a clear information hierarchy ensured a more intuitive and frictionless journey for visitors, helping them quickly find and understand TDG's offerings.
Agile Success: Thanks to a lean, iterative design process, we delivered the entire project 30% faster than the projected timeline, exceeding client expectations.
Reflection
This project showcased my ability to lead a UX/UI initiative under tight constraints while still delivering measurable improvements. The success of the redesign validated our strategy of using stakeholder interviews and heuristic evaluations as a strong foundation for design decisions. If given more time, I would have loved to complement this work with usability testing to gather direct user feedback and further validate key design choices. This would have provided even more data to refine the user experience.
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