Social Intranet and Publishing Portal

In 2015, I designed The Greenroom, Viacom’s internal platform that connects over 10,000 people around the world to work better together

The result was a centralised portal that showcased a bold visual design, built upon a robust information architecture, and a content and engagement strategy focused on delivering timely and employee-relevant articles. Social features and a homepage that adapts to the usage of individual users also helped serve employee needs to ensure they were able to find what they needed faster than ever before.

Viacom is one of the leading entertainment companies in the world, boasting brands such as MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount, BET and Nickelodeon.

I was responsible for research, the user experience design (personas, sitemap, wireframes and testing) and supported the visual design.

Discovery to uncover employee needs and pain-points

In order to design the optimal solution for Viacom, it was important I followed a disciplined user-centric process. This included building a thorough understanding of user needs (both on the part of content creators as well as content consumers).

Through an audit and an internal survey aimed at both those who create and consume content, I found that people wanted a) personalisation and the ability to tailor their intranet experience, b) the ability to collaborate, easier using social tools, c) internet accessibility at both work and at home, d) a modern design that “didn’t distract and get in the way” e) a vastly-improved method to navigate to content they regularly access, and finally, f) relevant “insider” content that only Viacom could deliver.

Personas and information architecture

I unearthed a treasure trove of insights about Viacom’s users which ultimately would lead to a highly personalised user experience and content strategy. To begin, however, the team needed to break down all of the content and features that existed on the current portal and start to build it back up again from the ground up.

One of four personas created based on our understanding of the audience

New content top-level IA based on persona needs

The new intranet sitemap shows a deeper-level of IA

Content strands, themes and formats: part of the team’s content strategy

Wireframes

Features, content, social and personalisation

Personalised quick links, sub-navigation, and “my profile” areas

Happening Now editorial hub section

Employee exchanges, “marketplace”, discussions and other community sections

Recent and top Comments surfaced at the beginning of articles

Ability to follow other thought-leaders and conversation provokers!

An engaging FAQ section that allows users to submit questions to experts and get tailored answers quickly

Design style guide

Final design: Welcome to The Greenroom!

The result

“A site that is truly worthy of Viacom”

“Viacom needed an intranet that served the needs of all employees while offering a customized experience. An intuitive interface, bold visual design, and content strategy focused on timely and engaging pieces covered the former, while robust social features, a personal profile page, and customizable quick links created the latter. The result is a site that is truly worthy of Viacom, a social and digital hub that reflects the creative energy that is our lifeblood.”

— Stuart Winchester, Director of Internal Digital Content and Communications