William Bruno
08 · Case study

Forrester

Role

UX + Product Design

Scope

Visual identity · go.forrester.com

Studio

Tank Design · 2017–2021

Status

Handed off, documented

Forrester Research Banking vertical page shown across desktop and mobile responsive design

A trusted name. A site to match.

Context

Forrester Research is one of the most respected research and advisory firms in the world. Their digital presence didn’t reflect that. A four-year engagement at Tank Design, one that shaped how I think about design systems and editorial UX.

Challenge

The site served multiple audiences at once: working analysts, enterprise buyers, individual subscribers. None of them had a clear hierarchy, and the visual language had accumulated inconsistencies across years of independent decisions.

Solution

I helped redesign the visual identity and build the component library that unified Forrester’s digital products — a visual language distinctive enough to feel like Forrester, flexible enough to handle hundreds of content types.

Impact

Four years building and evolving the system across digital products and channels, then handed off with documentation so the team could extend the system without us.

01 · The challenge

Multiple audiences at once, and none of them had a clear hierarchy.

The site served multiple audiences at once: working analysts, enterprise buyers, individual subscribers. None of them had a clear hierarchy.

The visual language had accumulated inconsistencies across years of independent decisions. The site worked, technically. It just didn’t communicate the authority of the brand behind it.

Forrester wireframe explorations showing three page layouts with content hierarchy and conversion pathways
Wireframe explorations: structure resolved before any visual decisions were made.
02 · The transformation

Strong visual equity, finally given a system.

Forrester had strong visual equity but no system for applying it consistently. The redesign built that system: a visual language distinctive enough to feel like Forrester, flexible enough to handle hundreds of content types.

At the heart of it: a collage illustration system with documented rules for themes, metaphors, and composition. Any designer could produce on-brand work without starting from scratch.

Forrester collage illustration library showing 28 unique compositions spanning research topics from AI to retail to cybersecurity
Illustration library: 28+ original collages tied to specific content themes.
03 · System credentials

Color, type, and components: documented for the team.

The system credentials — color, type, and components — were documented for the team as the building blocks of go.forrester.com.

Forrester Research color system tokens covering primary, vertical accent, and editorial palettes
Color: primary palette + vertical accents.
Forrester Research typography system showing display, body, and metadata hierarchy
Type: editorial hierarchy across research formats.
Forrester Research component library showing cards, navigation, modules, and editorial blocks
Components: the building blocks of go.forrester.com.
04 · Beyond the site

The system extends past the website.

The design intent throughout the Forrester Research visual identity: distinctive enough to be Forrester, flexible enough to scale. Infographic templates and email templates carried the system into research artifacts and messaging.

Forrester Research infographic templates supporting research data, charts, and visualization patterns
Infographics: data viz patterns for research artifacts.
Forrester Research email templates extending the visual system into transactional and editorial messaging
Email templates: system extends past the website.
4
Years

building and evolving the system across digital products and channels.

28+
Original collages

covering Forrester’s research verticals.

Handed off
With documentation

the team could extend the system without us.