ZEIT ONLINE

Redesigning one of Germany’s largest news sites

Services

ZEIT ONLINE is a leading destination for online journalism and digital storytelling. In addition to the publication’s long-standing reputation for high-quality reporting and in-depth political commentary, the platform is known for its innovative data visualizations and explainer pieces. Today, ZEIT ONLINE ranks among the top 40 visited sites in Germany overall.

For almost two years, we worked with their product and editorial teams on a major design overhaul of the website and app.

Mobile screenshot of a ZEIT Online article with the title "KI Made in Germany"
An iPad lying on a red sofa, the screen shows a ZEIT online article titled "Wer regelt die Welt?"

Through a series of stakeholder interviews and workshops, we identified the main hypotheses, challenges and goals for the new design. We then took an iterative approach and rolled-out features and components incrementally.

Highlights of ZEIT ONLINE’s revamped design include an all-new navigation that lets go of the traditional newspaper department logic — a reflection of internal structure rather than user value in the digital space — in favor of highlighting relevant topics and personalized content.

Two screenshots of the user interface of ZEIT Online, the left side showing the navigation in detail and the right side shows an article on a mobile phone the article has the title "Endlich sehen wir Licht"
Screenshot of the Meistgelesen section on ZEIT Online showing two listed articles
A webpage section from Zeit Online titled "Beliebt und angesagt," meaning "Popular and Trending," features three highlighted articles. The first article shows a young man in a floral cap, with the headline "Ciao Hipster, hi Granola-Boys!" discussing men's fashion in the city. The second article features an image of a wind turbine against a clear sky, with the headline "EU agrees on more ambitious renewable energy targets." The third article shows an elderly woman walking with a stroller, with the headline "40 percent more nursing care predicted by 2055."

One of the big goals for the redesign was to enable a more streamlined, iterative product development process going forward. To achieve this, we established a comprehensive design system, removing inconsistencies and clutter that had naturally piled up over the years. We then expanded on this system in parallel to the product design process.

A screenshot of the ZEIT Online design system showing the individual toggles that make it possible to easily adapt and adjust the templates.

We also developed a range of teaser designs and redesigned the article templates to allow for a more nuanced and compelling presentation of a broad range of topics: a strategic priority to overcome widespread news fatigue by letting journalism shine on a stage it deserves.

A person is sitting in a dimly lit room, using a laptop with a large screen. The screen displays an article titled "Das Highmittel" on the website Zeit Online, which discusses psychedelics and their effects. The background shows a burst of vibrant colors resembling a psychedelic visual, with hues of pink, yellow, blue, and purple emanating from the center. The person is typing on the keyboard with both hands adorned with rings.