UI/UX co-lead on a redesign run with an external agency
Reframing an external creative vision with business reality
Drupal
Richardson runs on an uncommon duality: a showcase site for B2C, a genuine e-commerce site for B2B (tradespeople, construction firms). During the full redesign run with an external agency, my seniority gave me domain knowledge the agency lacked — my role was to co-lead their UI/UX proposals to make them usable by our professional customers.
Several proposals, though visually polished, stayed disconnected from a professional buyer's real usage. I restructured the key information: on the account area, banking and accounting data (outstanding balances, statements, IBAN); on the quotes area, fields tied directly to the business database (project reference, agency, item codes) and quick access to order tracking.
Outcome — A pro area aligned with real operational needs rather than catalogue logic. Having left the company shortly after, I have no hard data on its performance in real conditions.
Order tracking: the progress of each purchase — a professional buyer's first expectation.
After several years at Richardson evolving existing modules, I took part in the full redesign of the company’s website, run in collaboration with an external web agency. There was no formal UX role at the company when I joined: I built one piece by piece, project after project, and this redesign was the high point of that gradually earned legitimacy. Richardson also runs an unusual dual setup: a brochure site for its B2C audience, and a genuine e-commerce site for its professional customers (tradespeople, construction firms).
My seniority in the company had given me a fine-grained understanding of business expectations and internal constraints — knowledge the agency did not have, focused as it was on market standards and overall aesthetics. My role was therefore to co-lead their UI/UX proposals, evolving them so they stayed faithful to the creative ambition while becoming genuinely workable for our users and our organisation.
Having not kept the agency’s initial versions, this project is presented through the final result and the key decisions that shaped it.
01
The problem to solve — a professional area treated like a shop window
Several of the agency’s proposals, though aesthetically accomplished and consistent with consumer e-commerce standards, remained disconnected from how a professional construction customer actually works. A professional buyer has neither the same expectations nor the same relationship to information as a consumer: above all they want an operational tracking tool — outstanding balance, quotes tied to a building site, order history — rather than a conventional shopping experience.
Order tracking: the progress of each purchase — a professional buyer's first expectation.
02
The restructuring — putting operational information first
My work focused on restructuring the essential information and features, more than on the UI or the art direction as such.
On the “My account status” area: the page had to expose typically banking and accounting data — outstanding balance, account statements, IBAN, home branch — at a level of detail a conventional e-commerce site never exposes to consumers, but which matches exactly how a professional construction customer tracks their commercial relationship with Richardson.
On the “My quotes” area: structuring this page mattered particularly, because it had to gather elements tied directly to the existing internal database — building-site reference, the Richardson branch involved, product codes. Those fields only make sense to a professional buyer in the sector, and are absent from any conventional catalogue logic. Fast, simple order-status tracking was another central concern, since professional customers need immediate visibility on the progress of their purchases.
What it demonstrates: the ability to turn a generic interface into a genuine working tool, by translating an existing internal management system into an experience usable on the customer side — a trade-off rarely needed in B2C, but essential for a professional tool.
The “My account status” area: outstanding balance, statements, IBAN and home branch.
Outcome
Having left the company shortly after the redesign, I have no hard data on its performance in the field. Above all, this project illustrates my ability to hold product coherence against an external supplier, drawing on domain knowledge no agency can have when it first arrives on a project.
This project illustrates my ability to converge an external creative vision with the operational reality of a trade, prioritising concrete usefulness over commercial aesthetics when the context calls for it.