Directing an external agency through a full website redesign

THE CHALLENGE

The company initiated a full website redesign to modernise the brand, improve usability and align the digital experience with an evolving product ecosystem. Execution was outsourced to a design agency. My role was to manage the design process internally and guide that external execution, so the agency's capability landed as our brand and our product vision rather than a generic refresh.

Role

Design lead, internal & agency

Worked with

External agency, marketing, product, PM

Scope

Full website redesign

Capable hands, unfamiliar context.

The agency brought strong design capability but was not yet familiar with our brand, product vision or internal standards. Without close direction, the risk was not an ugly website, it was an attractive one that did not reflect our identity or support our product goals. Two constraints shaped everything:

• the flow had to hold together end to end, from first glance through to a saved and exported report;

• And the whole thing had to extend the existing design system rather than quietly fork it.

The work was to establish a solid design framework the agency could operate inside, ensure cohesive storytelling across the entire site. We were making sure also that accessibility and usability best practice were integrated thoughtfully rather than retrofitted.

PROCESS

Before the agency began, I translated business and brand requirements into actionable guidance. Made sure internal stakeholders agreed on what a successful outcome looked like.

Define scope and align internally

Define design direction and standards

I set the design direction and standards the work would be measured against, giving the agency a concrete target instead of open-ended creative freedom.

Manage the external agency

I acted as the bridge between internal stakeholders and the external team: managing the end-to-end design workflow, setting expectations for deliverables and timelines. And facilitating communication so nothing was lost in translation on either side.

Review, refine and ensure consistency

I reviewed and validated every agency deliverable against our brand and UX standards, gave clear and specific feedback to refine the work, and maintained consistency across all redesigned pages and components.

Final approval and design support

I guaranteed alignment with the new design direction and branding through to launch. Staying involved for final approval and ongoing support rather than stepping away at sign-off.

This was a different kind of stakeholder management than leading an internal team. It meant setting and holding standards for a partner with no built-in incentive to know our product as well as we did — without slowing them down or making the relationship adversarial.

MANAGING OUTWARD, NOT JUST DOWNWARD

BRAND

A fully redesigned website aligned with the updated brand and product vision.

UX

Improved clarity, consistency and flow across every page.

COLLABORATION

Stronger, more transparent workflow between internal teams and the external partner.

A scalable design foundation the site can keep growing on.

REFLECTION

Reporting became a genuine differentiator for the platform. Is a proof that complex payment and terminal data can be made intuitive without being dumbed down. I have deliberately kept this honest about stage: it is live, early signal is strong, and validation is still running.

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