Simple Talk

About the project

End-to-end overhaul of a high-traffic blogging platform, and creating a feature-rich sub-brand

Overview

Simple Talk is Redgate’s technical publishing platform. Facing a 15% year-on-year readership decline, I led a full overhaul as sole designer, leading UX research, IA, wireframing, high-fidelity UI, accessibility, and developer handoff, whilst driving commercial goals for Redgate.

Targets

Four clear goals: reverse the readership decline; create a more compelling experience that encouraged return visits and drove traffic through to the main Redgate site; introduce new content formats including podcasts and events; and establish a sub-brand that balanced editorial independence with Redgate coherence and WCAG 2.1 compliance. A key constraint: every decision had to account for non-technical editorial staff managing the platform day to day.

The Brand

As sole designer, I developed a Simple Talk sub-brand balancing editorial independence with Redgate coherence, alongside assets, placement guidelines, and templates for podcasts, events, and physical swag.

View UX presentation

The project began with research, digging into GA and Hotjar data, auditing existing content structures, conducting stakeholder and user interviews, and mapping journeys to identify friction points. From there I worked through information architecture, wireframing, high-fidelity UI, template development and accessibility improvements, collaborating closely with marketing, editorial and development teams throughout.

The brand work presented a specific challenge. Redgate wanted Simple Talk to drive traffic back to the main Redgate site and turn engaged readers into customers, but the platform’s value depended on readers trusting it as an editorially independent voice. Design too close to Redgate and that credibility is lost; design too far and the commercial connection disappears. The solution was a sub-brand that sat in deliberate tension between the two: recognisably part of the Redgate world, but with its own identity, tone and visual language.

To support this, I developed a suite of templates and assets that let the editorial team build their own materials without going through the brand team for every piece, keeping output consistent while giving them the autonomy to move quickly. The platform was built on WordPress, so every UX and template decision had to account for non-technical users managing it day to day. The design also integrated with Marketo to surface personalised content recommendations and allow recycled content to be repackaged into new editorial collections. The brand also extended into physical output; I designed event swag, including booths, bottles, booklets, pens, and banners – helping Simple Talk make a strong impression at industry events and driving readership through QR codes and other linking tools.

Results

Within two months of launch, traffic stabilised. The platform went on to achieve consistent 1 to 5 percent monthly growth, serving thousands of daily readers across a significantly improved experience.

Related projects

Other major projects during my time at Redgate are outlined on the Brand Building at Redgate and Cavendish House portfolio entries.