Exploring the possibilities of paper in a new editorial platform for world-renowned paper experts and curators, GF Smith.
COLLABORATORS
UX RESEARCH: ALEX CAPES + DAVID LOWBRIDGE + ZETTELER
DISCIPLINES
UX DESIGN
UX RESEARCH
TIMELINE
JULY 2024 –
AUGUST
2024
DUPLEXING, EMBOSSING, CREASING... OH MY!
Since 1885, GF Smith has been the leading voice in paper in the UK and beyond. Their knowledge and expertise have benefited creatives from all walks of life, from the seasoned professional to the budding student. To accompany their latest re-brand, GF Smith came to us to create a brand new editorial platform to house their reams of content on and around the subject of paper.
With little analytical data on the existing editorial content to aid our efforts, we began the discovery phase by diving head-first into the world of GF Smith. By digesting, cataloguing, and sorting the various articles and content-rich pages, both live and archival, we built the foundation from which a taxonomic scaffolding was formed.
BUILDING A FUTURE-PROOF PLATFORM
As the GF Smith community includes a wide variety of creatives, the main challenge of the new editorial platform was creating an experience that served each member. The existing site suffered from content bloat and sprawl, a symptom of a lack of structure. A hostile environment to navigate, the content meant to service the creative community got lost and familiar UX patterns returned unfamiliar results.
From the goals defined by the client, and by our own discovery, the new editorial platform would be best divided into three sections: Learn, Create, and Inspire. A final non-editorial section called Services would be dedicated to the more technical information.
With further subdivisions for content types and series groupings, the new format allowed the GF Smith team to create content within a defined structure that grows with them without sprawling.
Understanding the key needs for each of GF Smith’s audiences allowed us to build a robust information architecture, further affirmed by user journeys.
THE FINAL OUTCOME
Although controversial in the design community, the new site allows for smoother navigation and encourages organic exploration. The new era of GF Smith aims to service every creative, not just the seasoned designer, heroing accessibility and inclusivity in the world of paper.