PureWow

Desktop Navigation Redesign

UX/UI Design · Digital Experience · Information Architecture · Data-Driven Design · Content Strategy

Redesigning PureWow’s desktop navigation to create a more intuitive, visually engaging experience that improves content discovery, strengthens brand identity, and strategically guides users toward high-priority editorial content.

 

The Challenge

PureWow’s existing desktop navigation had become cluttered and difficult to navigate, with limited visual hierarchy, unintuitive category groupings, and little emphasis on the content users were most interested in exploring.

The navigation functioned primarily as a directory rather than a strategic tool for content discovery. Its structure did not reflect audience engagement data or editorial priorities, and it lacked dedicated space to promote trending articles and encourage users to explore additional content.

The opportunity was to rethink navigation as both a user experience and content strategy initiative, balancing intuitive wayfinding with the business objective of increasing visibility and engagement across key editorial verticals.

My Role

I led the UX/UI redesign of PureWow’s desktop navigation, connecting user behavior insights, editorial priorities, and brand identity to create a more intuitive and strategically structured browsing experience.

My work focused on information architecture, category organization, visual hierarchy, interaction design, and the integration of editorial imagery and promotional content within navigation dropdowns.

The approach combined data-informed design decisions with a stronger visual system, ensuring the navigation supported both user discovery and PureWow’s broader content engagement goals.

Outcome

Delivered a streamlined, brand-forward navigation experience with clearer category organization, improved visual hierarchy, and prominent pathways to priority editorial content.

The redesigned system introduced visually engaging dropdowns and dedicated placements for trending and high-performing articles, creating more opportunities for content discovery, recirculation, and deeper site exploration.

 
 

Original Navigation

Original navigation was not intuitive, felt dated, and did not emphasize the most popular content or content that PureWow wanted to advertise.

 

New Navigation

The result was a streamlined, visually engaging navigation system that improved usability, strengthened brand identity, and strategically drove traffic to key content verticals.

Clear Visual Hierarchy

  • Increased white space to reduce visual clutter.

  • Refined typography to create distinction between primary and secondary items.

  • Logical grouping of categories based on related content themes.

 

Brand-Forward Imagery

  • Large, visually compelling images were incorporated into dropdown menus.

  • Each navigation item featured imagery that reflected the PureWow brand and corresponding content category.

  • Imagery helped users quickly associate categories with lifestyle themes.

 

Data-Informed Category Structure

  • Navigation organization was informed by user behavior data and engagement trends.

  • Priority verticals were given greater prominence in layout and visual weight.

 

Content Recirculation & Trending Space

  • Dedicated areas within dropdown menus were designed to feature trending or high-performing content.

  • This supported content discovery and encouraged deeper site exploration.