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AfroTech
https://afrotech.com/

How media and events website design boosted user growth from 500 to 20,000 and supported new sub-brands

Award-Winning
Project:
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Industry:
Media/content
Services:
Website redesign
Design system
UX audit
UX research
UX design
A blank woman on a conference of Afrotech.
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About
the project

Challenge:

AfroTech promotes and highlights the achievements of Black innovators, entrepreneurs, and technologists. Over time, the website became outdated and struggled to engage users or reflect the brand’s mission. The client approached Lazarev.agency to apply media and events website design principles, refreshing the site to improve retention, showcase content effectively, and create a vibrant, user-focused experience that encourages repeat visits.

Approach:

We applied media and events website design to revamp AfroTech with a vibrant, intuitive, and engaging experience. By prioritizing clarity, content discoverability, and visual appeal, we created a platform that encourages users to explore news, updates, and stories of Black innovators. The design emphasizes brand identity, boosts retention, and positions AfroTech as a go-to hub for insights, events, and community engagement in the tech and business sectors.

Results
20,000

AfroTech went from 500 people in 2017 to 20,000 people in 2022, this increase shows the interest & impact of AfroTech.

5

AfroTech has expanded its reach by establishing five sub-brands, some of which we have collaborated with.

x2

The initial scope soared twofold shouldering the extra tasks we embraced.

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The Project’s
Discovery Phase

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Creating a Video-First Site

In our endeavor to enhance user engagement and retention metrics, we have adopted a video-first strategy. The objective was to create an atmosphere similar to that of a lively media hub, breaking free from the usual constraints of a news-focused platform.

In addition to promoting the Afro community, the website aimed to showcase AfroTech events, job opportunities and  promotional offers of the client's subsidiary projects. So, we intentionally placed CTA banners guiding people to explore valuable AfroTech offers.

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Forming Community & Improving Retention

A pivotal strategy in achieving higher retention rates was to encourage newsletter subscriptions. Thus, we proposed placing a "Subscribe" call-to-action directly below the initial screen and within the navigation menu.

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Adding Dynamics for User Engagement

Our design solutions go beyond the usual layouts found on similar sites within the niche. We introduced a dynamic grid to enhance interactivity. To capture the bold spirit of AfroTech and its audacious values, we opted for large fonts, images, and extended video blocks. Adding a touch of humanity and vibrancy, we featured photos showcasing smiling faces. These solutions contribute to creating a memorable user experience, which is a core aspect of digital brand activation.

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Incorporating Revenue-Generating Components

Ad placement stands as one of AfroTech's primary revenue streams. Our UX challenge lay in designing an interface that balances user-friendliness without overwhelming readers with advertisements, yet still effectively drives revenue for AfroTech.

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Exploring unconventional UX approaches

The site's uniqueness lies in its absence of filtering by news categories. However, to diversify the user experience and provide more freedom, we added search by tags and implemented two columns on the news page: one for the most popular articles and another for the updated ones.

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Growing Mobile User Engagement

AfroTech attracts numerous mobile visitors, so we prioritized crafting a responsive design to deliver the ultimate user experience on mobile devices.

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Shaping A Scalable Brand Identity

Our brand designers embarked on a mission to unify and enhance the AfroTech branding system, striving to distinguish them from conventional news platforms. The brand exudes vibrancy and energy, resonating perfectly with the youthful audience.

Lazarev developed a scalable system that enables AfroTech to expand its product line while maintaining consistency with the brand design system.

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Enhancing Visual Communication

To promote attendance at AfroTech events, educational programs, and other offerings, we embarked on creating converting visuals for the communication campaigns. These visuals aimed to highlight the distinctive features of each product while remaining consistent with Afrotech brand's design principles.

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