The project began with a cross-department kickoff workshop to align stakeholders on the goals of the redesign and establish a shared vision for the new platform. One of the most significant strategic shifts that emerged from this conversation was the need to attract a younger audience without losing the brand’s existing voice. To better understand this target demographic, I conducted interviews with users who frequently consumed editorial content from competing lifestyle brands and digital publishers. These conversations focused on how users discovered articles, what kept them reading, and what caused them to abandon content. Through this research, a clear pattern emerged. Gen Z readers were far more likely to engage with content that was designed for mobile-first reading, delivered timely and culturally relevant topics, and came from voices they perceived as authentic and trustworthy. These insights informed the development of a primary persona, Sloan, along with a detailed user journey that mapped how younger readers moved from discovering an article to continuing deeper into the site.

Using these UX artifacts as a foundation, I designed mobile-first wireframes for the new Slice platform. The focus was on creating an editorial experience that encouraged discovery while making articles easy to scan and read on smaller screens. Throughout the design phase, I worked closely with a visual designer to refine the interface and conducted three rounds of usability testing using interactive prototypes. After each round, we iterated on the design to improve navigation clarity, readability, and overall engagement before handing the final designs to development.