A complete UX redesign of Portugal's most historically rich municipality website - bridging 2,000 years of heritage with the digital expectations of modern citizens and tourists.
"Where 2,000 years of history meets the city of tomorrow."
As a resident of Braga, I undertook this project with both professional intent and personal connection. The city's digital presence failed to reflect its unique duality - a UNESCO-valued historic city that is simultaneously Portugal's leading tech hub.
The original cm-braga.pt displayed almost no content on its landing page - just a cluster of navigation links with no visual hierarchy and no indication of where each one led. Citizens and tourists had to already know what they were looking for.
The redesign moved key content sections - Innovation, Culture, Environment, Education, Health, Sports - directly onto the homepage. Users immediately understand the city's offer and navigate with intention, not guesswork.
Design Process
From discovery to prototype - every decision grounded in research, not assumption
A comprehensive analysis of cm-braga.pt revealed critical mobile performance failures and an interface that communicated nothing about the city. The homepage was effectively a wall of links.
Three distinct personas representing Braga's primary digital audiences - each with fundamentally different mental models, goals, and contexts of use.
Mapping critical task flows per persona revealed exactly where the old site created dead ends - and where the redesign creates clear paths to completion.
Mapping all three personas across the full interaction lifecycle revealed consistent pain points at the same stages - confirming systemic design failures, not individual user problems.
|
S
Sofia
29 · Resident
|
M
Miguel
45 · Business
|
T
Teresa
34 · Tourist
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Finds site via Google, hoping to renew parking permit online | Referred by chamber of commerce to cm-braga.pt | Googles "Braga tourism" - city site 3rd after travel blogs |
| Emotions | Hopeful, immediately confused by the homepage wall of links | Cautious optimism, quickly frustrated | Excited about Braga, deflated by the interface |
| Touchpoints | Homepage (wall of links), navigation, services section | Homepage, search bar, "Município" section | Homepage, news section, events calendar |
| Pain Points | Wall of links - no idea where to start, especially on mobile | Business section buried 3 levels deep, no search results | Events in Portuguese only, no photos, no mobile filtering |
| Opportunities | Content-rich homepage with clear residents entry point | Dedicated Invest & Business with smart search | Visual events calendar, bilingual, mobile-optimised |
| Design Response | Homepage: news, events, services hub all visible on load | Business portal with status tracking and direct contact CTA | Immersive "Visit Braga" section with map, events, guides |
| Success | Task completion without needing phone support | Application submitted and status visible in first session | 3+ events saved and visit itinerary formed |
Key insights from the research phase that directly shaped every design decision in the redesign.
The new IA was designed around three distinct entry audiences - replacing the department-based structure with a user-mental-model approach.
A design system built from Braga's identity - navy from institutional heritage, gold from Roman foundations, green from the Minho landscape.
10 - Homepage
Heritage · News · Events · Clear entry points
Where the old site showed only navigation links, the redesigned homepage surfaces real content immediately - hero with news sidebar, "Bem-vindo a Braga" narrative, photo carousels, and direct entry into the city's key topics: History, Innovation, Culture, Sports, Health.
11 - Conhecer · Heritage & Tourism
Sé de Braga · Bom Jesus · Braga Romana
The redesign brought Braga's rich heritage directly onto the homepage - full-bleed monument photography, a "Bem-vindo a Braga" narrative section, and a horizontally scrolling Destinos de Topo carousel showcasing Sé de Braga, Bom Jesus, and the city's iconic landmarks.
12 - Inovação · Cultura · Ambiente
Innovation cards · Cultural events · Green initiatives
Innovation (nanotechnology, tech companies), Culture (Braga Romana, São João festival, exhibitions), and Environment (sustainability, green spaces) were previously buried link pages. The redesign surfaces all of them as distinct, visually rich homepage sections with cards, photos, and event listings.
13 - Educação · Desporto · Saúde
Universidade do Minho · Estádio · Hospital de Braga
Education (35,000+ students, 95% literacy), Sports (Estádio Municipal, SC Braga, Próximos Eventos Desportivos), and Health (12 centres, 1,500+ professionals, emergency contacts) are now surfaced as full homepage sections - with stats strips and always-visible emergency numbers.
Based on competitor benchmarks and established UX research principles, the redesign is projected to deliver measurable improvements across all three user segments.
A civic design project carries responsibilities that commercial ones don't. Every decision affects citizens' ability to access services they depend on.