John Deere for Kids
Lead UX Designer, Lead Publisher
Select any image to view full-size page screenshot.
After Redesign - Desktop
My Contributions
- Converted an initial design concept that was not brand-compliant or web-friendly into a compliant and functional webpage tailed for kids K-12 and parents alike
- Proposed seasonal coloring page updates, knowing the kid's content archive had many options already available for use
- Suggested addition of links to John Deere branded kids products, such as Lego and Minecraft; additionally, suggested link to John Deere Store which has many kid-oriented toys, clothing, and other products
- Added a lead-in link to Visit John Deere, filled with many free attractions perfect for families. I updated those pages regularly as well, knowing there are frequently free special events with kid-friendly crafts and engagement
- Converted my design concepts into actual published pages and maintained content monthly for seasonal updates
- Leveraged existing Youtube playlists to populate a videos section, knowing it would automatically update as new videos got added to reduce direct publishing needs to stay current
Key Results
- Increase in visitor traffic by ~40%
- Internal partnership established with the social media team to share seasonal coloring pages/activities, improving both social engagement and web page visits
- Created a second internal partnership with the Visit John Deere team, cross-referencing content across both areas for better family-friendly engagement
- Activity downloads, especially coloring pages, increased 3x according to analytics data
Original Concept I Was Provided - Created by a Third Party Agency
About a month after the new design launched, I realized the existing activities content, especially coloring pages, could be used for timely seasonal engagement. I proposed regularly updating holiday-related activities so parents, kids, and educators could easily engage. Likewise, I suggested a partnership with the social media team to share the holiday updates to spread our reach even wider. The content owner and social media team were thrilled with the idea, and it was quickly implemented. Unfortunately, the my final sample screenshot doesn’t show this addition, but the results were superb for all invovled.
My final design contribution was overhauling how videos were embedded on the page. Instead of manually selecting featured videos, I used an existing YouTube playlist and an existing video gallery component to automatically rotate in new videos as soon as they were added. This change saved significant time for both publishers and the content owner by eliminating the need for regular video reviews and updates.
The John Deere for Kids redesign aimed to modernize the user experience and make the content more engaging and kid-friendly. I was initially presented with a concept from a third-party agency that not only missed the mark on brand guidelines, but also couldn’t be implemented in our CMS. The design had a more traditional print approach, so my task was to adapt it using our existing CMS components to ensure brand compliance and an easy to update template.
I began by breaking down the design into CMS-compatible components and selecting colors to maintain the vibrant feel from the concept as much as reasonably possible. Then, I sourced internal John Deere stock photos and Photoshopped them with rounded edges to create a friendlier, more approachable look and feel while still fitting the dimensions of available components for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Once the design was adapted, I focused on improving the content. I saw an opportunity to promote John Deere products more directly, such as LEGO kits and the John Deere Store, rather than using the vague "partners" term from the original concept. This change felt more natural and less like advertising. In addition, I proposed including links to choice John Deere properties that are family-friendly and free to visit. Having maintained those web pages too, I knew there were frequent events perfectly tailored for kids, such as crafting, concerts, toy exhibits, and more.
After - Mobile
Before - Desktop & Mobile
