eight25

Proud of the work behind this project We partnered with Ellucian, an AI education platform that supports 3,000+ institutions and more than 20 million students globally, to rethink the structure of their digital presence. Over time, the website had expanded to 3,000+ pages, reflecting the breadth of their platform and the global higher education ecosystem they serve. Our focus centered on: • Simplifying the information architecture • Establishing a clearer regional content strategy • Streamlining discovery of insights and resources • Consolidating content across thousands of pages • Designing more expressive templates and components When organizations operate at category-defining scale, every digital touchpoint carries weight. Creating a structure that reflects that standard was a meaningful challenge and one we were proud to contribute to.

I’ve joined 100s of redesign kickoffs in the last two years. Almost always, within 10 minutes, the first real debate is about design. Before something more foundational is settled. What rarely gets asked is the question: What content do we actually need? • Not layouts. • Not components. But the actual stories the business needs to tell. I’ve watched teams move quickly into wireframes and design directions, only to circle back weeks later when something feels off. • Messaging starts stretching to fit templates. • Pages get reshuffled. • Entire sections get reconsidered.    The redesign doesn’t stall because of design. It stalls because something foundational was never settled. In your experience, what gets decided first in a web redesign: the wrapper, or the story inside it?

The one page most B2B websites never build (but absolutely should) is the page that answers the question: "WHY YOU?" Your homepage → It explains what you do. Your product page→ It shows how you solve a problem. But what happens when a prospect asks the inevitable: "WHY YOU?"   Most B2B websites never answer that question. The gap between explaining what you do and proving why prospects should choose you is massive. In this edition, we’re unpacking where that narrative belongs and how to build it.

We partnered with Qlik to elevate the digital experience behind Qlik Connect, the flagship event of the 14-year Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in analytics. Our focus centered on the event experience itself. • Clarifying the narrative. • Streamlining the journey. • Designing the experience That matches the ambition of the community it brings together. When a company operates at category-leading scale, every touchpoint reinforces trust. Creating a digital home for Qlik Connect that reflects that standard was a meaningful challenge and one we were proud to take on.

We teamed up with Vaco by Highspring, a $1B+ talent solutions leader, as the company evolved its brand to match its scale. As one of the largest talent solutions providers in the United States expanded beyond talent into business transformation and strategy, the digital experience needed to clearly communicate its evolution into a fully integrated professional services organization. With more than 10,000 employees across 45+ offices worldwide, it also needed to reflect the credibility of a long-standing talent solutions leader recognized on the Inc. 5000 for 17 consecutive years. Our role focused on the website: bringing clarity to the overall narrative, defining how Vaco’s brands connect, and creating a foundation the team can continue to evolve. Here’s what we focused on: • Clarifying a cohesive, multi-brand story • Designing a system built to support future growth • Elevating the experience to reflect enterprise scale • Establishing a scalable foundation for thought leadership • Centralizing leadership to reinforce trust and governance Creating a digital home that matches the rigor, and ambition of the business was a meaningful challenge and one we were proud to take on.

It’s 2026 and B2B companies are STILL optimizing websites like buyers used them five years ago - browse a few pages, watch a demo and talk to sales... then acting surprised when they never make the shortlist. Two years ago, that flow made sense. A buyer would land on your site, scan a features page, then book time with an AE to ask the real questions: • Will this work with our data? • Is this overkill for our use case? • Does this integrate with our stack? • How does pricing actually shake out at our scale? Today, those questions aren’t being asked on a sales call. They’re being asked all at once, with context, constraints, and comparisons baked in. Instead of Googling “Best marketing automation for B2B?” Buyers are asking generative engines: • “Does this integrate with Salesforce and 6sense?” • “Can it support this segmentation model?” • “How does it compare to X for companies like ours?” And they expect a clear answer immediately. Most websites technically contain these answers… but not in a way that survives modern buying. Buried in PDFs. Locked inside sales decks. Or living only in an AE’s head. Which worked fine when humans were doing the scanning. It doesn’t work when the first pass is systematic and contextual

We partnered with the Ironclad team to bring greater clarity to how their category leadership shows up online. As Ironclad continues to scale and advance the role of AI in contract lifecycle management, their digital presence needed to reflect not just what the platform does, but the strategic role contracts play inside modern organizations. Our role centered on the website: aligning the narrative to enterprise buyers, refining the experience around clear personas, and creating a foundation the team can continue to evolve. Creating a digital home that matches the rigor, confidence, and ambition of Ironclad’s platform and the customers who rely on it, was a meaningful challenge, and one we were proud to take on at eight25.

Proud to share eight25’s 2025 reel, bringing together the work that defined our year. It’s a reflection of the craft, the team behind it, and the clients and partners who trusted us and helped raise the bar along the way. Grateful for the journey so far. Excited for what’s next.