Industry
Retail
Company
AutoZone
Year
2019
A blog experience redesigned to make automotive guidance easier to find
Overview
The AutoZone blog had great content but poor structure — users couldn’t easily find what they needed, and engagement was slipping. My goal was to bring order and intent back to the experience: make it intuitive, visually consistent, and aligned with AutoZone’s larger digital ecosystem.
Challenge
The existing blog lacked organization and hierarchy. Users struggled to locate information, and pathways to the main AutoZone site were unclear. The mission was to modernize the experience, improve usability, and subtly drive conversions without making the blog feel commercial.
Approach & Methods
Conducted a card sort with 20 participants (50 articles) using Optimal Workshop to understand how users categorized content.
Analyzed results to reveal mismatches between user mental models and existing categories.
Designed a new information architecture and lo-fi wireframes focused on clarity, scannability, and discovery.
Created an integrated browsing experience that connected articles, categories, and shopping flows naturally.
Solution Highlights
Reduced cognitive load by simplifying IA and labelling.
Introduced a streamlined navigation with clear topics and stronger search.
Reorganized ~400 articles across 36 meaningful categories.
Delivered responsive layouts consistent with AutoZone’s brand and accessibility standards.
Impact & Learnings
Post-launch analytics showed better article discovery and higher click-throughs to product pages — users were exploring, not bouncing. This project reinforced a lesson I carry into every redesign: clarity drives engagement. It reminded me to validate usability early and to iterate faster, using sketches and symbols before investing in polish.