Ask

NEN asked us to design a new, user-friendly, and accessible corporate website that serves both users and administrators. The website needed to function as a strong digital foundation for future products requiring a CMS component.
The project followed logically from the NEN Connect project, where we advised designing for the entire customer journey rather than isolated components. This meant starting with the frontend experience, NEN.nl, and seamlessly connecting it to the NEN Connect functionality as a core tool within that journey.
Additionally, NEN was refining its brand identity. We contributed by enriching the digital chapter of this evolution, ensuring that the new website aligned with the updated design foundation while enhancing usability.

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Answer

In addition to NEN.nl, there were several digital environments offering value to end users. Our research showed that customers experienced these as separate platforms. However, they were specifically looking for individual standards and needed guidance and recommendations for related training, documents, and other relevant resources. By integrating these “separate shops” into one cohesive experience, NEN can better serve its end users and increase their engagement with NEN’s services. NEN therefore aimed to consolidate these environments.

The existing NEN website stood to benefit from improved structure and enhanced user support. We noticed how users struggled to find the right content, encountered duplicate pages, and faced complex interactions that led to dead ends. By implementing a more explicit hierarchy through visual cues and logical structuring, we guided users more effectively and created intuitive pathways that supported them in achieving their goals.

Additionally, branding, design, and tone of voice inconsistencies led to a fragmented user experience. A key challenge was presenting NEN and its sub-brands as a unified family while maintaining enough distinction in form and content to clarify their specific roles. We addressed this by introducing a refreshed design system, ensuring a consistent look and feel across all pages while allowing for flexibility to accommodate different types of content. 

To support this, we translated our research into key design principles that shaped our concept:

• User Intent as a Priority:
  Ensuring call-to-actions reflect users’ goals and needs.
• Transparent Transactions:
  Clearly outlining NEN’s role, services, and processes, along with the value and costs of their services.
• Guided Search & Discovery:
  Helping users navigate standards and related content in a more intuitive and exploratory way, without overwhelming cognitive load.‍
• Contextual Content Placement:
  Strengthening connections between different types of content and services through intelligent linking and structuring.

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Way of working

At fresk.digital, we don’t jump straight into design, but we start by understanding. For NEN, we applied our Discover & Strategise approach: a structured deep-dive into user needs, organisational goals, and technical realities.

Through stakeholder sessions, user interviews, and journey mapping, we uncovered a key insight: users don’t think in silos:they think in outcomes. Whether they’re searching for a specific standard, booking a training, or navigating regulations, they expect a seamless path that makes sense from their perspective.

We translated these insights into clear, actionable design principles that guided every layer of the concept. But just as important was how we brought those principles to life visually.

We started with visual research and moodboards, exploring a wide range of stylistic directions to match NEN’s evolving brand. From there, we built style tests: interface explorations where form took the lead over function. These early, high-variation designs gave us room to experiment, fail fast, and develop a shared visual language with the client. It wasn’t always pixel-perfect, but it helped us define what felt right for NEN.
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At the same time, we started shaping the structure:building content blocks to bring order to the complexity and guide users through a consistent, intuitive experience, finding the information they needed to fulfil their goals. These structures and content blocks provided valuable insights into the components and elements needed to guide users. Based on this, we developed a design system setup with reusable components that can be applied across the main NEN.nl website and its sub-brands. All of this came together in a clickable prototype, where strategy, design, and content flowed as one. This approach allowed us to test key journeys early on, validate assumptions and fine-tune the experience in close collaboration with our stakeholders before moving into development.
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Result

The redesigned NEN.nl aims to offer users a more intuitive and structured experience. The design is focused on being more engaging and reflects NEN’s role as a guide in the world of standards. The improvements not only make content more accessible but also enhance user confidence and engagement with NEN’s services.
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By simplifying complexity, providing better guidance, and ensuring a consistent experience, we designed a digital environment that helps users focus on what truly matters: applying the correct standards efficiently and effectively. The new website can now be created as a seamless starting point connecting users to the broader ecosystem of NEN tools and services, ensuring they receive the best support in their professional journeys.

Beyond delivering the design of the platform and components, we equipped NEN with the tools, knowledge, and guidance to implement and continually refine the platform as they move forward.