Nebraska Corn Board

From Fragmented Sites to a Cohesive Digital Foundation

Website homepage on a laptop screen

Project overview

The Nebraska Corn Board needed a clearer, more cohesive way to organize and present information across its digital ecosystem. Content was spread across four websites serving different audiences—from consumers and students to media and policymakers—making it hard for users to find information and for the team to manage updates.

I led the information architecture and digital art direction for the site, ensuring the website carried through the look and tone established in the creative team’s print materials. The goal was a unified, scalable structure that supported multiple audiences, surfaced frequently updated research, and provided a consistent, trustworthy entry point into Nebraska corn and its impact across the state.

Duration

November 2021 – October 2022

Role

Information Architecture
Digital Art Direction

Team

1 Digital Art Director
1 Digital Designer
1 Content Strategist
1 Project Manager
1 SEO Analyst
2 Web Developers
1 Web Administrator

Tools

Adobe XD
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Microsoft Excel
WordPress

The Challenge

With multiple sites serving different audiences, it was difficult for users to find information and for the team to keep content organized. The site needed a cohesive structure that could support diverse needs while making updates easier and more intuitive.

Key Problems

1. Four separate sites, one organization

Content lived across four websites, creating fragmentation for users and unnecessary complexity for the internal team managing updates.

2. Overlapping content without clear hierarchy

Core topics like corn uses, ethanol, sustainability, and research appeared in multiple places, often without a clear structure or prioritization.

3. Diverse audiences with different goals

The site needed to serve casual consumers, students exploring agriculture careers, media seeking talking points, and policy-focused visitors—without feeling disjointed.

4. Frequently changing information

Research, data, and policy-related content were updated often, but the existing structure made it difficult to surface timely information or guide users to the right next step.

Four original sites to combine for NE Corn

Four separate websites made it difficult for users to find information and for the team to maintain content. Consolidating these experiences was a key driver for the new information architecture.

Proposed sitemap

Working with the SEO analyst and content writer, I incorporated insights from their content audit to guide consolidation and reduce redundancy.

From a UX perspective, I focused on intuitive grouping and clear labeling, creating a sitemap that makes navigation simple for all audiences—while keeping the structure scalable for future updates.

Key
NE Corn Sitemap Key
NE Corn Sitemap Main Navigation
NE Corn Site Map Footer Navigation

Visual Direction

With the proposed structure in place, I partnered with the digital designer and creative team to ensure the website’s visual execution supported the new information architecture. Rather than designing individual components, my role focused on providing digital art direction—guiding how layout, hierarchy and imagery could reinforce clarity, cohesion and ease of use across the site.

The direction ensured the website carried through the look and tone established in existing print materials, while adapting it for a flexible, content-heavy digital experience.

The Result

The final site provided the Nebraska Corn Board with a more cohesive and sustainable digital foundation, supporting both external audiences and internal teams.

Key Outcomes

• Stronger SEO foundation

Consolidating content into a single, well-structured site improved crawlability, reduced duplication, and strengthened overall search performance.

• Clearer, more unified brand presence

Aligning the website with updated brand materials helped reinforce consistency across channels and present a more credible, modern experience.

• Simplified content management

Moving from four sites to one made it easier for the internal team to update content, manage research and data and respond to media and policy needs.

• More intuitive information architecture

The new information architecture reduced friction by organizing content more logically, helping users reach relevant information quickly and confidently.

Ongoing Evolution

Following launch, the site continued to grow through frequent content updates, new pages, and the addition of new sections. In 2025 the homepage was refreshed to support updated priorities and content needs.

I remained involved in the design and planning for these updates, helping ensure that new content fit within the existing structure and visual system without introducing friction or inconsistency.

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