The brief
In 2021 Metaphacts approached us to redesign their corporate website. The client’s previous site was built with Joomla, and they wanted to keep that CMS.
The website plays a crucial role in the client’s business, both for acquiring customers by providing product information and a sign-up flow for trialing their software, and for building and maintaining relationships with existing customers via the so-called “Resource Hub.”
Regarding the design of the new site, the client had a clear vision:
The design should feel modern, fresh and exciting. It should have a distinct, tech-centered character, while reflecting both the company identity and the UX of the product, Metaphactory. At the same time, the client insisted on working with an existing design template, believing a custom design would exceed the overall budget.
About the client
metaphacts, based in Germany, provides the Metaphactory platform that helps other companies on their knowledge-graph journey. The platform supports the democratization of knowledge, improves data literacy within organizations, and helps enable informed business decisions.
Our solution
The biggest challenge in this project was balancing design with budget. After initial talks with the client it became clear that buying and adapting an off-the-shelf design wouldn’t work.
The project kicked off with intensive discussions between the client, our project manager and our designer. That dialogue was crucial for the way forward, and together we worked hard to find a creative approach that made efficient use of the allocated designer hours.
The client agreed and the project began. We proposed three different creative directions, from which the client chose a favorite and later supplied hand-drawn wireframes. Based on that, our designer created mockups that were quickly approved by the client.
Lessons learned
Certain visual elements we suggested during the design phase proved significantly more complex to implement, and it was a challenge for our developer to realize them within the agreed budget. Although these issues were successfully resolved, the experience underscored the importance of closer alignment between designers and developers.
Highlights
Distinctive design
The final design emphasizes diagonal elements inspired by graphics from the client’s product. The site also features a custom slider that enriches the customer subpage.
Adjustments to the Resource Hub
We migrated and reimplemented the extensive “Resource Hub”, a crucial tool for the client in building long-term relationships with their customers. It features a large volume of documentation and case studies searchable with various tabs and filters.
Impact for the client
The success of this project is reflected mainly in the commitment and trust that developed between our teams. Metaphacts became a long-term client and found a trusted agency in us — with several additional larger projects, ongoing maintenance tasks and monthly communications.