About.Google
Background
Google has grown far beyond its origins as a simple search engine displaying a snapshot of US internet traffic. Today it spans cloud computing, mobile, voice, IoT, hardware, AI, and much more. With millions of daily visitors to about.google, it became clear the site needed to evolve into a bold and dynamic marketing platform that could communicate Google’s global product portfolio, values, and story while keeping pace with continuous change.
As the primary designer on a small interdisciplinary team that included executives, creative leadership, program management, customer research, creative engineering, and content design, I led the hands-on execution through high-fidelity mockups, specifications, prototyping, and asset creation.
The Challenge
Designing and launching a modern marketing site for Google required solving several core challenges:
Showcasing Google’s Evolution: Presenting the breadth of offerings, from foundational search tools to AI and next-generation hardware.
Dynamic, Always-On Content: Creating a design system that reflected the energy of the brand and could adapt to constant product announcements.
Multiple User Intentions: Supporting visitors seeking help with current products and those exploring what Google makes and why.
Rapid Updates: Building a flexible framework that accommodated nonstop news without losing consistency.
Global Scale: Ensuring the experience worked seamlessly across Google’s top international markets, including localized product portfolios, languages, and imagery.
The Work
Communicating Google’s Dynamism
• Designed the site to blend live feeds, motion, and adaptive visuals that showcased the breadth of Google’s product ecosystem.
• Integrated an internal company screensaver to capture Google’s energy, creativity, and global reach.
Telling Google’s Story
• Created a masthead carousel that illustrated Google’s evolution from a search engine to a multifaceted technology company.
• Developed imagery and interactive elements that highlighted Google’s human, inclusive, and forward-looking values.
Addressing User Needs
• Researched visitor behavior to understand the dual intent on the products page: discovering new products and getting support for existing ones.
• Refined the narrative and structure so both journeys were clear, intuitive, and distinct.
Cross-Team Collaboration
• Partnered with executives, creative leadership, program managers, research teams, creative engineers, and content strategists to align brand direction with user experience goals.
• Facilitated brainstorming sessions and iterative design reviews to validate and refine concepts.
Global Optimization
• Designed and tested the site for localized content across Google’s top international markets, ensuring adaptability for language expansion, regional product portfolios, and varied imagery.
• Tailored content for each market while maintaining a unified global identity.
Outcome
The redesigned About.Google site successfully communicated Google’s brand, values, and product story at global scale. The work delivered:
• A compelling visual narrative that captured Google’s evolution and pace of innovation.
• Higher user engagement through dynamic content balanced with clear and intuitive navigation.
• A scalable design framework that supported continuous updates across product launches and announcements.
• Fully localized versions starting with the first 10 major international markets, allowing the site to resonate with diverse audiences worldwide.