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2025
The need to redesign Kespro’s Small producers page originated from the procurement team. The existing solution relied on an interactive map displaying small producers and their product offerings. However, the page required significant manual maintenance, which made keeping the information up to date challenging. In addition, the previous implementation raised potential data privacy concerns.
The existing user experience was also fragmented. Clicking on a producer within the map opened a small pop-up containing a short introduction and a link to an external Excel file listing the producer’s products. Accessing product information required several steps, and navigation between producers was cumbersome.
My responsibility was to rethink how the same information could be presented in a way that was more user-friendly, scalable, and easier to maintain, while still supporting business needs and fitting within the existing website ecosystem.
Process
The process began by identifying the core purpose of the page and clarifying the most important user needs. The primary objective was to provide customers with an up-to-date and easily browsable list of small producers and their offerings. Users needed to be able to quickly scan available producers, access more detailed information, and navigate seamlessly between producer profiles.
At the same time, business and technical requirements had to be balanced. Since the page would be built within the Contentful CMS environment, the solution needed to align with Kespro’s existing design system, available components, and technical limitations.
Throughout the project, I collaborated closely with procurement and digital sales teams to understand operational needs, maintenance challenges, and technical possibilities. Initial concepts and alternative approaches were reviewed together, and feedback from different stakeholders helped refine the direction. The process was iterative, with continuous adjustments based on feasibility, usability, and long-term maintainability.
One concept explored during the process included adding regional filtering for producers within Finland. However, after discussions with stakeholders, this was deprioritised in favour of a simpler and more lightweight solution that better matched current business needs.
Outcome
The final concept replaced the interactive map with a dynamically updated producer listing connected to an existing database of current small producers. This significantly reduced the need for manual maintenance while improving scalability and content accuracy. One of the key improvements was that newly added producers would automatically appear on the page once they had been added to Kespro’s database. In the previous solution, keeping producer information up to date required manually maintaining separate Excel files, making the process time-consuming and more prone to outdated information.
The producer list was organised alphabetically, making it quick and intuitive to scan given the manageable number of producers. The structure and styling followed patterns already familiar elsewhere on the Kespro website, particularly the existing brand listing component, helping maintain consistency across the platform.
Anchor navigation was introduced to improve usability and allow users to jump directly to specific sections within the list. Selecting a producer takes the user directly to a dedicated producer page, where they can explore additional information and product offerings in a more structured and accessible format.
The chosen direction prioritised clarity, maintainability, and ease of implementation while remaining fully aligned with Kespro’s visual identity and technical ecosystem.
The solution with placeholder producer names
Clicking on a producer’s name in the list takes the user to a dedicated producer page with more information about the producer.
Constraints
The project was designed within the constraints of the Contentful CMS, which limited flexibility regarding layout structures, interactive functionality, and component customisation. Existing website patterns and reusable components needed to be utilised wherever possible to ensure consistency and technical feasibility.
These constraints required careful prioritisation throughout the design process, balancing ideal user experience improvements with realistic implementation possibilities and maintenance considerations.
Project status
I left Kespro before the solution was implemented, so I do not have access to the final implementation details, analytics, or post-launch insights. However, the concept, user flow direction, and design approach had been validated collaboratively with stakeholders during the design phase, and the proposed solution was designed to support both business efficiency and long-term maintainability.
Key learnings
This project strengthened my understanding of designing within existing systems and technical constraints while still aiming to improve usability and scalability. I learned the importance of identifying the true core need behind a redesign request. In this case, the challenge was not simply visual redesign, but reducing maintenance effort while improving information accessibility and user navigation.
The project also reinforced how valuable cross-functional collaboration is in shaping realistic and sustainable solutions. Continuous discussions with procurement and digital sales teams helped ensure that design decisions balanced user needs, business priorities, and technical feasibility.
Finally, I learned that simplifying an experience can often create more value than adding new functionality. Replacing the interactive map with a clearer and more maintainable listing structure resulted in a solution that was both easier to use and easier to sustain over time.
Design sandbox
The original Small producers page included an interactive map. Clicking a producer’s icon opened an Excel file containing more detailed information about the producer.
An alternative design with a regional filter