Growth driven by insight
As one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts, RioCan sought a redesign to enhance the site’s information architecture and update the visual interface. The goal was to modernize the user experience while retaining key elements such as photography and essential operational features that supported the site’s structure.
My role: Strategy and Hands-on UI
Context
The company required a digital platform overhaul, starting with a discovery phase to evaluate user workflows and interface architecture. Key pain points, such as performance issues and a fragmented user journey, were targeted through cohesive, user-focused updates that improved consistency and usability.
Stakeholders also sought recommendations to refine interactive components while preserving their functionality.
Process
This project was a collaborative effort involving two UX designers, project managers, developers, and external partners.
We, the UX team worked closely with project managers to define the site’s structure, with my focus primarily on the visual design and user interface.
In collaboration with developers and external partners, we assessed and refined functional elements, such as graphs and statistics tools, identifying opportunities to optimize usability and performance.
Results
The updated site was launched in 2021, addressing foundational aspects such as brand alignment and site organization. By optimizing the navigation structure and eliminating redundancies, we streamlined the user experience, ensuring more efficient interactions.
As is typical with any major redesign, this marked the start of an ongoing, iterative process to further enhance usability and interface performance.
What the initiative covered
My role was to guide the dev team, identify and design components based on the client feedback, in order to move the site towards an optimized version while incorporating UX and Branding practices.
Which included:
To apply a foundational style guides that were scalable
Provide an strategy for website growth and evolution
Incorporate accessibility practices
Create reusable UI components for consistent use across the site.
Align stakeholders, generate progress amidst uncertainties.
Execution of design and asset creation.
Design that guides and includes
The UI focus was on translating the foundational UX framework into a clear, usable layout that minimized cognitive strain by organizing and presenting essential information in an intuitive way using color and space. Key attention was given to improving reading efficiency over the previous version, addressing pain points such as navigation issues and the usability gaps signaled.
Throughout the process, aligning the brand’s visual identity with accessibility requirements was a key challenge. In some cases, brand elements initially conflicted with accessibility standards, requiring negotiation and collaboration to find solutions that maintained the brand’s integrity while ensuring inclusivity.
A flexible, modular approach enabled us to scale the interface effectively, streamline approvals, and defer more complex elements for further refinement, all while advancing with the simpler components.
From overload to insight
The original site featured essential tools like graphs, stock information, and filters, but their cluttered presentation and styling created user frustration. So our intention became to retain functionality while improving usability.
We worked with the development team to simplify these elements, focusing on clarity and reducing visual noise. This first iteration involved some compromises, prioritizing a quick solution for a better user experience. However, we recognized the need for further research into how other providers present similar data, which would guide future updates and help optimize the presentation in later phases.
The original RioCan site evolved organically over time, leading to a disorganized content structure. So one of our tasks was to streamline the information architecture by optimizing user pathways. In this example, you'll see an iteration of the sitemap, where content was categorized into logical groups, allowing for future scalability and flexibility.
Final thoughts
After extensive collaboration with stakeholders, developers, and art directors, the new version of RioCan was successfully launched. The result? A streamlined, integrated site that blended the best of both the familiar and the innovative. This refreshed platform not only improved previous user experience but also marked the beginning of a new chapter for this real estate leader.
With the site launched, user interactions were closely monitored, and the insights gathered were intended to guide the next steps in terms of refining and fine-tuning the interface. This ongoing feedback loop was set to inform future optimizations and further enhance the user experience.
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