ROLE: Web Design, UX & UI
Jobs.ie is a leading employment website aiming at people from 20 to 30 years old looking to kickstart their careers in Ireland.
The general perception since the initial launch of Jobs.ie was that the type of roles offered only focused in the areas of Catering, Pharmaceutical & Sales. It didn't have any type of brand personality and the site felt very outdated. The company made its revenue through banner advertising which only made the site look more cluttered and the overall search experience was uninspiring.
1. RESEARCH & INFORMATION GATHERING
The research team at McCannBlue performed a series of interviews with the company's key stakeholders and also the end users from diverse backgrounds. This allowed the company to gather important information regarding the website's business objectives and the user's overall brand perception.
The key objectives were:
• To get rid of the site's banner advertising and use alternative methods of gathering revenue.
• To change the company's perception of being a faceless search engine to a brand that understands the needs of its users and provides the necessary tools to help them succeed in their career.
• A brand that could attract more qualified people interested in building up their career and not just looking for a job to get by.
• An ideal platform for networking and learning more about potential employers.
• An intuitive and user-friendly site that could make the job application process an enjoyable experience.
2. DEFINING THE BRAND
In this branding exercise Sara O' Dea did a fantastic job of bringing the new logo to life across different applications with its vibrant typographical look & feel. It was my task to incorporate her vision into this website and other applications.
3. WEB DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
Once the logotype was approved, I focused in re-defining the website's navigation, grid system, typographic scale and colour palette. I also wanted prioritise the job search functionality at the top of the site so it could become the primary visual element specially when viewing it on mobile devices.
Photography was also essential for reaching their target audience. The mood boards proposed were showcasing different hands at work in every type of industry. Our approach was that people needed to feel inspired when looking for a new job and photography certainly helped to improve the overall perception.
When it came to adding new features into the site, we focused on making a company's profile page that could showcase more details and therefore attract the right type of applicants to the job.
Finally, the application and registration process were drastically simplified. The average time of completion came down from 15 minutes to only 5 minutes in total.
Key deliverables in this stage:
• Brand Guidelines for the Website and diverse print applications.
• Designs for all screens with their correspondent responsive layouts.
• Interactive prototypes developed inside Pattern Lab.
CONCLUSION
After two years spent in development, the company fully embraced their new branding and new business strategy. It is very satisfying to see how people's perception of the brand has completely changed overtime and Jobs.ie is now a well respected brand in the 'Employment' industry.
