BACKGROUND
I was brought on to the Zillow design team to help update the visual brand and introduce better visual hierarchy on its content heavy website. The company, as a whole, was at a point where they were ready to prioritize visual style and brand awareness. The Marketing team had done extensive research on Zillow's brand awareness and found a large percentage of the US population didn't know what Zillow was. I worked closely with the User Experience and Marketing teams to create a brand style that aligned with Zillow's core values and end goals.
The Homepage was one of the first projects where this new look was rolled out. The homepage rollout was in tandem with a targeted advertising effort (radio and tv ads) in select markets across the US. As a key player, and the only designer, on this project I was responsible for the design—from conception to completion. This process included brainstorming, wireframes, prototypes, user testing, high fidelity mocks and final assets for launch.
We landed quickly on a homepage direction that showcased a large photo, but there were many iterations on how to handle the user experience of the search bar and filter. I've included some of that process below.
GOALS
• Increase brand awareness and user engagement
• Update visual design of the homepage while maintaining baseline user engagement
• Make homepage responsive
• Create an approachable, trustworthy, visually pleasing brand image
• Create more awareness of Zillow's offerings