Newsday Redesign.

Company

Newsday Media Group

Role

UX & Design Director

Team

20+ designers, engineers, QA, and an outsourced mobile app partner

Focus

Platform redesign · Design system · Monetization · Performance

The challenge

A slow, inconsistent site with poor ad visibility that had fallen behind reader expectations.

What I led

A 20+ person team through a full rebuild: new front end, new CMS, a governed design system, and shared agile delivery.

The outcome

Page loads 78% faster, ad viewability from 15% to nearly 70%, ad revenue up 24%, and design-to-development time down 62%.

78%

Faster page loads

15% → ~70%

Ad viewability

24%

Increase in ad revenue

62%

Less design-to-development time

Skills shownTeam leadershipDesign systemsPerformance and ad monetizationAgile deliveryData-driven design

Overview

As part of Newsday’s digital transformation, I led the complete redesign of Newsday.com’s content experience, the heart of the publication’s engagement and revenue model. The initiative aimed to modernize the platform, improve ad performance, accelerate page load times, and deliver a cleaner, more reader-focused design system that unified the experience across desktop, mobile, and app environments.

Challenge

Newsday’s digital experience had fallen behind user expectations. Page load times were slow, ad visibility was poor, and the site lacked design consistency across desktop and mobile. The mission: rebuild Newsday.com into a fast, elegant, and scalable platform that boosted both reader engagement and ad revenue.

My role

As UX & Design Director, I led strategy and execution across the full product lifecycle, from research through delivery.

Managed a cross-functional team of 20+ designers, engineers, QA, and external partners.
Defined product vision and KPIs in partnership with editorial, product, and revenue leads.
Established a data-driven design culture, combining user insights with measurable business outcomes.
Introduced scalable systems and agile workflows that accelerated delivery and improved collaboration.

Goals

We focused on 4 main KPIs to ensure our focus remained consistent as we approached design and development hurdles.

Improve ad viewability: Increase impressions and CPM through smarter placement.
Boost page speed: Modernize the front-end architecture for mobile-first performance.
Enhance legibility: Redesign layouts and typography for immersive long-form reading.
Increase engagement: Extend session duration and scroll depth through better UX.

Approach

Over the course of only a year we rebuilt the entire site and established a new CMS system.

1. Platform redesign & performance optimization

We rebuilt the front-end from the ground up, prioritizing speed, scalability, and readability.

Implemented inlined CSS and deferred non-critical assets to dramatically reduce load time.
Applied learnings from Google AMP and usability testing to refine hierarchy and readability.
Achieved a 78% faster load time and reduced bounce rates across all devices.

2. Advertising experience & revenue growth

Working with the ad operations and business intelligence teams, we overhauled ad delivery for better visibility and ROI.

Introduced sticky desktop ads and persistent mobile footer ads, raising ad viewability from 15% to nearly 70%.
Drove a measurable increase in CPM and total ad revenue, 24% year over year.
Established ad placement guidelines balancing user experience with monetization goals.

3. Design system creation

To unify the product ecosystem, I led the development of the Newsday Design System, a reusable component library with visual, interaction, and accessibility standards.

Created modular UI components, documentation, and governance for cross-team consistency.
Reduced design-to-development time by 62%, improving quality and reducing QA cycles.
Empowered teams to ship updates faster and with greater confidence.

4. Agile delivery & cross-functional alignment

Transitioned design and engineering teams into a shared agile framework for more efficient collaboration.

Introduced sprint rituals, design reviews, and rapid iteration cycles that cut delivery time by 32%.
Fostered accountability and transparency through structured communication channels.
Embedded UX metrics into product planning, ensuring data shaped every release.

Results

Together these changes delivered 78% faster page loads, ad viewability up from 15% to nearly 70%, a 24% year-over-year increase in ad revenue, and a 62% reduction in design-to-development time. The new platform, design system, and agile rituals also gave the team a foundation to keep shipping with confidence.