Wacom reinvents the product website

Wacom is well known amongst creative professionals for its high-end drawing and painting tablets - but it's recently expanded its product suite to include tools aimed at the general public.

So when global agency Fi was asked to redesign its website, it faced a challenge. How to engage this new, non-professional audience, unfamiliar with the brand, without alienating its core user base? More specifically, how do you create a homepage that strikes the right tone - when the right tone is going to be different for different audiences?

Fi decided to square the circle by side-stepping the traditional homepage altogether, in favour of what it calls a "discovery page". With a simple, neutral layout, this page guides the visitor to the product that's right for them through intuitive suggestions and a user-friendly product finder.

Interestingly, there's no real sales pitch to speak of: instead, friendly, relevant messaging replaces marketing speak. The aim is to put the product experience first and allow the visitor to dig deeper if and how they choose.

This approach may have been borne out necessity due to the 'two audiences' dilemma - but the result is a refreshing take on the idea of a product site. A great example of how taking a lateral approach to site redesign can end up serving users a whole lot better.

Liked this? Read these!

• How to build an app
• Brilliant Wordpress tutorial selection
• The best free web fonts for designers

Have you spotted an inspiring take on website navigation? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below!