Project Overview

Client: Abacus Translation, a financial business translation company based in the Netherlands
Industry: Translation, AI
Tools: Figma, Wix
Timeline: 6 weeks (2026)
My Role: Visual Website Designer, Brand Designer, UX Designer

Abacus Translation is a Dutch - English translation company, focusing mostly on business and financial translations. The company needed to modernize their website, branding and promote a new e-learning course. The existing site was outdated, difficult to navigate, and did not effectively highlight their new digital offering.

My role was to redesign the user experience using Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) principles, ensuring the new course was clearly promoted while improving the overall usability of the website.

The problem

The existing website suffered from several usability issues:

• Outdated visual design that reduced credibility

• Poor information hierarchy

• The new e-learning course was not prominently featured

• Navigation was confusing for new visitors

These issues made it difficult for users to quickly understand the services offered and discover the new learning product.

The Research and Discovery

I conducted a heuristic markup of the existing website using established HCI principles.

Key findings included:

• Lack of clear calls to action

• Weak visual hierarchy

• Important information buried in dense text

• The e-learning course and services not visible from the homepage

I also conducted an interview with one of the key stakeholders to see what frustrations they had in terms of the website and found that the SEO wasn't optimised either - this was a big painpoint for them.

Design Solution

Based on the heuristic markup, I developed a UX strategy and wireframes focused on:

• Improving the navigation

• Creating clear hierarchy of information

• Highlighting the e-learning module with dedicated sections and a new page

• Reducing cognitive load through simpler layouts

I used HCI principles such as visibility of system status, consistency, and recognition over recall to guide my design decisions.

Design Process

The whole design process was very iterative. I worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the design aligned with their business goals. Through regular communication and feedback sessions, I ensured the website effectively represented their services while also promoting the new e-learning product. The image below was one of the first iterations, where information hierarchy was still in discussion.

Final product

View the live website here

With the use of better visual elements the redesigned website now:

• Presents a modern and credible online presence

• Clearly promotes the new e-learning course

• Provides a simpler and more intuitive user experience

• Makes it easier for clients to understand the services that they offer

• Has and optimised SEO

January 2026 Traffic Overview vs. March 2026 Traffic Overview. It's early days, but we can already see an improvement.

Reflection

The project allowed me to apply HCI principles to improve the usability and the structure of a real-world website. By evaluating existing experience and redesigning key areas, I focused on reducing cognitive load and improving the discoverability of information.

I aligned user needs with business goals and clearly communicated my design decisions with stakeholders involved throughout the process.