Fabian MeierProduct Designer

Blick
Redesign

Role
Design Lead
Timeline
Q1 2023 – Q4 2024
Scope
UX Research, UX Strategy, UX Design, UI Design, Workshop Facilitation, Design System, Dev Handoff, Stakeholder Management
Team
CPO, CCO, Editor-in-Chief, Head of IT, PM, PO, Tech Lead, Web/iOS/Android Architects, Devs, External Design Agency
Three mobile screens presenting the Blick redesign.
Presentation of the Blick redesign design language.
Presentation of the Blick redesign proof of concept.
Presentation of the redesigned Blick content structure.
Presentation of monetization placements in the Blick redesign.

Summary

I led the redesign of Blick.ch to improve content discovery, strengthen engagement, and create more commercial capacity without disrupting the reading experience. A clearer homepage hierarchy, stronger recirculation, and a new desktop side column created 70% more eligible monetization opportunities in a difficult advertising market.

25%

deeper homepage scrolls as readers explored further before leaving.

10%

longer reader sessions through clearer hierarchy and stronger discovery paths.

70%

more ad opportunities without interrupting the reading flow.

Three mobile screens presenting the Blick redesign.

Challenge

The homepage was overcrowded. Around 80% of traffic stayed there, while most readers dropped off after only a quarter of the page. The dominant journey: Home → Article → Home, limited discovery beyond the day’s biggest stories.

At the same time, a weakening advertising market put pressure on the existing commercial model. We needed to give readers clearer priorities and more reasons to continue, while creating sustainable inventory for commercial partners.

Solution

We redesigned the homepage around a cascading content hierarchy. Breaking stories became clear entry points, while supporting items made the rest of the page faster to scan. New discovery paths and interactive formats appeared before the main scroll drop-off, giving readers more reasons to continue.

On article pages, recirculation components helped readers explore a topic without returning to the homepage. On desktop, a side column added commercial capacity outside the main reading flow.

Presentation of the Blick redesign design language.
Initial look and feel explorations to achieve a bolder design language fit for a tabloid.
Presentation of the Blick redesign proof of concept.
A PoC prototype was tested with real Blick users to assess the appetite for new features and content formats.

Make breaking news feel immediate

For major breaking stories, we introduced an immersive mobile state that lets the lead image reach the top edge of the screen. Removing the usual boundaries gives the story more visual weight and makes its urgency clear at a glance.

Workshop wall covered with printed Blick interface concepts and annotations.
Presentation of the redesigned Blick content structure.
The legacy layout (left) relied on high visual noise and constant urgency, which quickly led to user exhaustion. The redesign (right) introduces intentional rhythm between transient and sustained reading moments.

Move beyond the quick visit

Readers often left after a short homepage visit. We moved useful discovery paths higher up the page, before the main drop-off point, and mixed in formats that rewarded continued scrolling. The goal was to turn a quick Home → Article → Home loop into a deeper reading journey.

Give each scroll a reason

On mobile, every module starts with a high-impact story to draw readers in, followed by smaller items that are easier to scan. Video carousels and other interactive formats appear at key transition points to renew interest and carry readers further through the page.

Presentation of monetization placements in the Blick redesign.
On desktop we used the common F-pattern layout to optimize content hierarchy and increase ad density without compromising readability or the user experience.