CASE STUDY
A Unified Experience Bridging Together Multiple Web Properties
Overview
R.S. Hughes is a dynamic North American and Central American distributor of industrial and safety supplies with B2B focused e-commerce web properties tailored to various industries such as aerospace, medical, manufacturing, electronics, automotive and more. Representing trusted brands such as 3M, Henkel/Loctite, GE, Brady, Milwaukee Tools, Dupont, Kimberly Clark and more.
Collaboration & Acknowledgements
The works presented here are a product of the extensive collaboration I've had with the many talented people at R.S. Hughes within the marketing, sales, development, IT, HR, and data science teams. I've partnered cross-functionally with these teams to identify and resolve critical points of friction and drop-offs as detailed in the provided example of our latest user journey analysis. I've lead the UX/UI design and digital experience, strategically executing on high-impact enhancements which continually optimize conversion, while ensuring a seamless and effective transition from marketing discovery to conversion acceleration. Partnering particularly closely with brand, performance marketing, and IT/development teams, we've streamlined processes across various stakeholders and organizations to ensure a unified design language is effectively communicated across every digital touch point. We have been particularly proud of the Human-Computer Interaction and Cognitive Psychology principles that have been applied throughout each step of our process as a base for decisions at various levels.
Challenges
I was brought on to fill some critical talent and skill gaps within the team focusing on top priorities related to digital marketing and branding. However, within only a few weeks the leadership could see an even greater need for my specialization in web design. The company faced a significant number of customers who were failing to complete orders on the website because it lacked a modern responsive design preventing users from easily accessing and completing orders from their mobile devices. We could see from our Google Analytics reporting that this was forcing customers to rely too heavily on laptop or desktop computers which were typically only stationed onsite in customer's offices and warehouse spaces. Customers critically needed access to place orders from anywhere using their mobile devices. So I was put in charge of leading the redesign of a whole new website experience with a focus on an all new responsive design more fully optimized for all devices and screen sizes.
The second major challenge was taking the website to the next level of optimization, to continually hear the customers voice through customer voice surveys/initiatives, and customer journey research and analysis. These initiatives were foundational for addressing the additional gaps and pain points that could be identified in the overall website user experience. This then opened the door to taking this beyond the website but also to social media, email, newsletter, blog, events, and throughout the entire digital experience. With this I was then promoted to lead these initiatives as the company's first UX/UI designer and digital experience leader.
A third challenge was launching a rebrand, including a redesigned logo, an entirely reimagined brand strategy, with a comprehensive brand guide. All the new strategies required seamless integration in order to bridge together a singular unified digital experience across three separate web properties.
A third challenge was launching a rebrand, including a redesigned logo, an entirely reimagined brand strategy, with a comprehensive brand guide. All the new strategies required seamless integration in order to bridge together a singular unified digital experience across three separate web properties.
Focuses
The top focuses for the team and I have been on rshughes.com (United States) rshughes.mx (Mexico) and saunderscorp.com. A Wordpress powered subdomain news.rshughes.com has also been seamlessly integrated into the US site which has enabled powerful self-serve content management to the marketing team for the company blog, newsroom, and events page. This integration has helped propel record high engagement throughout the website and customer journey. Our work on these web properties has been focused on new build-outs, redesigning and rebranding along with supplying critical updates on weekly and bi-monthly cadence.
My role
UX/UI Design, Service Design & Interactive Prototyping, Visual Intelligence & Data Storytelling, Conversion-Centric UX Governance, Cross-Functional Design Influence, Mentorship & Design Standards
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Figma Make, Adobe CC (XD, Photoshop, Illustrator), Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics, WordPress, Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS, Visual Studio Code, Klayvio, JIRA, Monday.com, Ninety
Outcomes
• Delivered critical updates within the top 10 user journeys strengthening engagement and customer funnel performance across the buyers journey at key touch points within the homepage hero banner, promotions page, category pages, product pages and cart.
• Reduced purchasing friction within the shopping cart by streamlining the checkout from 6 steps to 3 steps, which in Q1-2026 contributed to an 8.6% year-over-year growth rate in daily sales.
• Driving the user experience and user interface design for company websites which have continually powered record annual growth rates and increased stock values over 23% YOY since 2022.
• Implemented a new inventory clearance feature which has increased gross profits by over 9%. Implemented the first company newsletter & website prompt where subscribers in the first 4 weeks grew over 7%, with 64% open rates, and over 4% click-through rates.
• Using Microsoft Clarity and GA4 I delivered measurable results through thoughtful UX/UI strategy and analysis — resulting in a 10% increase in average monthly blog landing page sessions year-over-year and a 63% lift in average time on page across the blog.
Homepage & Menu for Mobile (Before)
The previous design lacked a responsive framework and the menu lacked organization. This created excessive friction for mobile users. It demanded unnecessary cognitive load and made it difficult while on the go to order products and access important solutions which users needed on a regular basis such as order history, purchasing management, inventory & vending management. Even signing in required unnecessary steps. We could also see how difficult it was for customers to simply reorder based on lists of products which were being needed on a regular basis.
Homepage & Menu for Mobile (After)
The redesigned website includes a fully responsive design implemented with the latest Bootstrap frameworks and modules. The new structure and menu provided improved user flows throughout the customer journey providing quicker and more efficient access to sign in, view products, categories, promotions, featured products, order history, purchasing, inventory vending management, region/language selector and much more right from the homepage and all new menu structure.
Quick Lists Feature
We integrated some game-changing new features throughout the site such as "Quick Lists", where customers can create customized lists of products which are frequently ordered on a regular basis or schedule and whenever more products are needed they can quickly have reordered based on their preset lists of products. The "Quick Lists" method for ordering has become the #1 highest traffic user flow on the site since it was implemented. This feature among many others have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers, partners and internal teams.
User Journey Research Analysis (example)
Example Analysis: The image above and linked analysis below serve merely as a representative example and visual reference to demonstrate the type of research and data analysis conducted and do not reflect the actual data used as recommendations, baselines, financial figures or any other privately held data.
We implemented Microsoft Clarity and integrated it with Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, and WordPress to provide in-depth user journey analysis informing decisions within our design and development roadmaps. This has proven to be one of the single most important implementations that will lead us through the year and will influence years to come.
(example only)
I lead the strategic development and execution of the digital experience initiatives that shape how R.S. Hughes communicates its story across digital channels.
• Built and implemented the company’s first-ever UX/UI website marketing strategy, establishing UI guidelines and frameworks, content management processes and brand storytelling systems from the ground up.
• Oversaw a team of designers, developers, writers and editors, guiding design decisions and ensuring digital experience initiatives supported broader brand and business goals.
• Partnered with the design team and key stakeholders across the company to craft audience-centered strategies for ad campaigns, landing pages, social, email, sales enablement and brand websites.
Spearheaded design projects and implemented new functionality for the R.S. Hughes website which have fueled another record breaking quarter in revenue for 2026.
• Implemented the company’s first UX/UI research and analysis tool (Microsoft Clarity) and developed a new UX/UI style guide, bringing consistency, clarity and brand alignment across all digital touch points.
• Launched R.S. Hughes’ first blog and newsroom, collaborating cross-functionally with content, brand, and development teams to draft wireframes, develop strategies and ensure seamless publication workflows.
• Instrumental in launching the company’s first intranet (HughesHub) in under four weeks, supporting internal communications, employee career planning, company strategy and launch execution.
• Designed a landing page for R.S. Hughes’ 70th Anniversary campaign, creating a brand history that honored the founder and connected legacy to future growth.
Newsletter
Implemented the company's first website newsletter subscription prompt/opt-in model which integrates with Klaviyo.
Brand Guidelines
SupplySight Landing Page
With this new inventory management program being introduced, I played a primary role in implementing the website's first video hero banner, entry animations, and improved security for form fill and phone dial in using reCAPTCHA Bot Protection — protecting against fraud and abuse with this modern bot protection and fraud prevention platform. Further safeguarding the website by detecting and blocking account takeovers.
Saunders Website
Saunders is a division of R.S. Hughes which is a dedicated converting service that is integrated into the purchasing process of R.S. Hughes and allows an array of customization for thousands of products serving aerospace, medical, transportation, electronics and more.
Saunders Homepage
