Evolving with purpose:
This wasn’t just about making it look better. It was about making it work better – for real tenants, in real homes, using real devices.
Upgrade the digital experience to better reflect Gentoo’s personality, values, and mission.
Gentoo Group Redesign UX and Brand
WHO
Gentoo Group
WHAT
Website Strategy, UX Research, Visual Design, and Analytics Optimisation
WHEN
January 2022 – September 2023
WHERE
Sunderland, England
HOW
Co-design workshops, tenant interviews, data-driven UX and brand alignment
Listening first: workshops, interviews, insight
We kicked off the project with a series of interactive co-design workshops across multiple teams and user groups. These included colleagues from communications, digital, customer services, and tenant voice – ensuring that every touchpoint in the organisation had a say.
Listening first: workshops, interviews, insight
We kicked off the project with a series of interactive co-design workshops across multiple teams and user groups. These included colleagues from communications, digital, customer services, and tenant voice – ensuring that every touchpoint in the organisation had a say.
We used:
- Brand personality sliders to identify how the organisation should feel online (e.g. formal vs friendly, complex vs simple)
- Post-it exercises to map likes/dislikes from competitor sites
- Live wireframing sessions to co-create homepage layouts
- “Day in the life” scenarios to understand tenant behaviours and common frustrations
We also ran in-depth user interviews with Gentoo tenants of all ages, backgrounds, and digital confidence levels. This research revealed crucial insights into how tenants navigate online services, what language they relate to, and what accessibility support they need.
Key findings from the workshops:
- Tenants valued simplicity and clarity over flashy features
- The homepage needed direct paths to critical tasks (e.g. paying rent, reporting repairs)
- Mobile was the dominant device for access
- Trust was linked to tone – a friendly, human voice made users feel supported
This co-design process laid the foundation for every UX, content, and design decision that followed.
What was delivered 2022
2022: Foundation and Function
In 2022, work focused on fixing the fundamentals:
Improved navigation based on real user journeys
Streamlined forms and task flows
Compliance with GDPR and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Performance tools used:
Google Analytics to track user paths
HotJar for heatmaps and recordings
Lighthouse for performance and accessibility checks
A/B Testing to optimise layouts and language
These improvements led to:
⏱️ 21.7% increase in user engagement time
📉 16% drop in bounce rate
🚀 38% improvement in overall website performance
2023: Engagement and Impact
With strong foundations in place, 2023 focused on enhancing the digital experience and driving results:
Redesigned visuals to align with Gentoo’s brand personality: clean, modern, soft corners, large CTAs, plenty of white space
Clearer structure and simplified content to reduce overwhelm
Updated layouts that prioritised mobile users (93% of the user base)
The outcomes:
📈 14.72% increase in user engagement
📄 23% rise in page views
⏱️ 10.4% increase in average visit time
🌱 17.15% growth in organic search traffic
💬 Conversion rates soared:
+88% via organic search
+32% via direct traffic
+187.92% via paid Google Ads
A brand experience that feels human
Gentoo’s brand is rooted in community, compassion, and clarity. These values informed every visual and content decision:
- Consistent use of Gentoo’s colour palette (orange, teal, navy)
- Soft iconography and rounded elements for approachability
- Clear buttons and interaction indicators
- Simple, plain English content – no jargon, no corporate waffle
This wasn’t just a design refresh. It was a transformation of how the brand feels online.
