T3N is one of Germany’s leading technology publications, covering web design, digital culture and business.

Located in Hannover, the T3N team grew to 40+ editors, developers and designers, dedicated to produce rich content for both its print magazine and the T3N website, which has more than 3 million visitors each month and grows constantly.

In 2016 T3N hired the Berlin-based agency Clapp for a rebrush of the T3N website with a strong emphasis on typography and an overall rework of the article templates.

As creative director I led a small team and we defined a new visual language and information architecture for the T3N homepage as well as for the article templates. We worked in two sprints focusing on prototyping and fast results that could be tested before implementation.

Editors can work with a flexible system of different teaser types on the T3N homepage:

Content modules, such as containers with teasers for image galleries or videos, can be placed anywhere on the site:

The main editorial sections of T3N are highlighted by illustrated headers:

Biggest (expected) problem:
Ads. As so often, building tools for great storytelling has its limitations when platforms base their business models on banner advertising. (Non-responsive) banners and the “fireplace ad” format, which restricts the content area of a website to merely 960 pixels width, severely limit the design options with regard to image sizes, article headers and the overall grid of the website.