Partnered with our team at Publicis Sapient, Verizon needed a new template for their Gridwall that could easily support a variety of conditions, while increasing findability. When Engineering limitations stalled the overhaul, a more modular approach created immediate value while ensuring a better foundation for future iterations.
As a freelancer, I joined the Accessories Team within Publicis Sapient’s Verizon account. Our overall focus was to improve findability and support a more unified experience across a dynamic product inventory. We set out to create a new template for their Gridwall (a.k.a. Product Listing Page [PLP]) which would accomplish these core goals, but also take an arduous manual process of creating new pages into a more flexible one that supports the Verizon Design System (VDS).
Our first task was to better understand the current telecom landscape as a whole. I started with Verizon’s own platform and audited 125 distinct gridwalls, uncovering an array of inconsistencies leading to poor UX. We then looked at direct telecom competitors, accessory vendors, and other best-in-class eCommerce vendors from different product categories. The pros, cons, and deficiencies from each of these were taken into account as we ultimately developed our proposal. In parallel, our team conducted key stakeholder interviews and workshops to consolidate pain points, as well as, align on the gridwall’s ideal state. This allowed us to solidify a prioritized list of objectives for the new template.
Working with Verizon, our team, lead by a Content Strategist, had established four values-based pillars, all of which needed to be considered: Guiding, Helping, Inspiring, and cultivating Trust with their users. Factoring all of these qualities into our designs, we proposed different directions via content blocking and wireframing for a new overall template of the gridwall.
Taking a look at all the wireframe options, engineering concluded that their codebase was limited, and they wouldn’t be able to support many of our proposals out of the gate. So while Dev improved their architecture and capabilities, in parallel we pivoted from an overall template design to a more modular approach that would enhance the current state — focusing on the most complex element of the page first, the product tile.
To complicate matters further, several previously unknown stakeholders at Verizon emerged with their own requests, which hadn’t yet been communicated. Inundated with new requirements, we worked with producers in both companies to confirm that our scope was now truly locked-in. With no more stakeholders waiting in the wings, we designed several dozen product tile variations, ultimately arriving at a universally agreed-upon version.
Around this time, the developers returned to the table, sharing the good news that they were able to improve their backend, and could now support the new product tile. We were back in business!
With one new module successfully implemented, and with that overall process serving as a precedent for success, we followed a similar approach for other elements within our template. Working with engineering and the full set of stakeholders, features like product filters and secondary/tertiary navigation were redesigned, until we had addressed each modular element within our original template.
Ultimately, Verizon was able to launch their new template, but had one further advantage in-hand: Our modular approach allowed them to use these product listing elements beyond just the Accessories storefront. This resulted in an overall unification of all Verizon’s product offerings, contributing to its future maintainability and scalability.
I've had the privilege to work with a diverse range of clients and teams, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
