Designing a clearer way into a complex marketing platform
I worked on redesigning the client-facing experience, focusing on the homepage and its modular Slices, as well as the Index experience that allowed users to explore information in greater depth.
Dentsu.Connect is an enterprise B2B platform bringing together data, technology and workflows across the marketing lifecycle.
The challenge wasn't simply to make the interface look cleaner.
It was to make a complex ecosystem easier to understand, navigate and act on - while creating a flexible experience that could scale across different types of users, content and devices.
How might we surface meaningful information from across Connect without turning the homepage into another complex dashboard?
The homepage had to make a complex platform and data feel simple.
I started by looking at existing user research to understand the problems planners and other Connect users were trying to solve. This helped identify the information they needed most, where existing tools were falling short, and what they expected from a starting point like the homepage.
I then mapped those needs against the wider Connect ecosystem, understanding where the information originated, how it moved through the platform and what could realistically be surfaced at the start of the journey.
Starting with the problems, not the interface
Existing user research helped me identify the recurring needs and pain points behind the experience. I used these insights to understand what users needed from the homepage before deciding what information and functionality to surface.
Before redesigning the homepage, I needed to understand the ecosystem behind it.
Mapping the ecosystem
Understanding where information originated, how it moved through Connect and what could realistically be surfaced at the start of the journey.
The homepage shouldn’t try to be the whole product.
I explored different ways of structuring the homepage around three questions. This shifted the homepage from a collection of information towards an orientation layer - giving users enough context to understand what was happening before deciding where to go next.
What’s happening?
Surface useful information from across the platform.
What matters?
Give important signals enough hierarchy to be understood quickly.
Where do I go next?
Provide clear routes into deeper experiences.
Different information.
One underlying experience.
Slices are modular sections within the homepage that bring information from different areas of Connect into the user’s starting experience. Projects and briefing activity surfaced workflow information. Data Pipeline communicated the health of connections and data. Planning showed planned activity, while Spend and Performance brought financial and performance information into the overview. The challenge was to create consistency without forcing every Slice into the same layout.
From exploration to a more cohesive homepage
I explored a range of potential slices to understand how different types of information could work within a flexible, modular system. I then mapped the existing homepage against the proposed experience, showing how information could be reorganised into clearer, more focused sections while creating a more consistent foundation that could scale across future content.
Designing the Data Pipeline experience
Users needed to quickly understand the overall state, identify potential issues and decide whether they needed to investigate further. I structured the information around the overall health of the pipeline, connection status, supporting detail and a clear route into the deeper experience.
Mapping the system behind the experience
I broke the Data Pipeline down into its core areas: Connection Health, Transformation and Data Serve, to understand how information flows through the system and what users need to know at each stage. Mapping the underlying states alongside user stories helped establish the structure, terminology and hierarchy for the final experience.
Turning complexity into a clearer pipeline
I used early design reviews to challenge the structure, hierarchy and terminology within the Data Pipeline slice. By mapping questions and areas of confusion directly onto the interface, I could identify where users might struggle to understand connection health, transformation status and data outputs — and use those insights to shape a clearer, more intuitive experience.
Designing within technical constraints
Some of the data we wanted to surface wasn't readily available in the format we needed. I worked closely with Product and Engineering to understand the constraints, prioritise what mattered most to users and adapt the design around what we could reliably deliver.
The result: a simpler, more focused experience that balanced customer value with technical feasibility.
Designing for the journey beyond the homepage
The final design was annotated for engineering to define how each data point and interaction connected to the wider Data Refinery experience. I documented destinations, filtering behaviour, data sources and key states so the intended journeys were clear and implementation could move forward with less ambiguity.
Stakeholder feedback
Rather than treating stakeholder feedback as a final validation step, I used it throughout the process to challenge assumptions and shape the direction. This helped refine information hierarchy, terminology, navigation and component behaviour across different client contexts.
Testing three directions before committing
I created three homepage directions and tested them with Santander, General Motors and Kering. Their feedback helped identify what information mattered most and shaped the final direction.
A clearer starting point for a complex platform
The redesigned homepage gave users a clearer way to understand what was happening across Connect and decide where to go next.
The modular Slice framework created a more flexible foundation for surfacing different types of information, while the underlying patterns could scale across clients, content and devices.
Clearer orientation
Key signals and activity were surfaced without turning the homepage into another dashboard.
A scalable framework
Modular Slices created a consistent structure that could adapt to different types of information.
A clearer path to action
Each Slice provided context and a clear route into deeper experiences.
A clearer way into Connect
The final experience brought the homepage, modular Slices and deeper journeys together into a clearer starting point for Connect.
