I was brought on as a freelance designer at Rightpoint to support the redesign of McDonald’s global intranet, MCD Access — a critical internal platform used by employees across the organization to access information, resources, and tools. The goal was to modernize the experience and transform the intranet into a scalable, intuitive corporate portal that could support a large, diverse, and distributed workforce.
Designing a Modular, Responsive System
From the outset, it was clear the redesign needed to be modular.
The platform was being rebuilt on top of a new CMS, so the design system had to support a plug-and-play mindset. Every component was designed to be flexible, reusable, and easy to manage on the backend, allowing teams to update content without heavy design or development effort.
The experience was fully responsive by design, ensuring consistent usability across desktop, tablet, and mobile — critical for a global organization with varied access patterns.
Using Color to Guide and Orient Users
Color played a key role in both usability and familiarity.
McDonald’s has long used color to differentiate product lines and guide customers in physical spaces. We applied this same thinking to the digital experience, extending existing brand color logic into the intranet to help users quickly identify content types and navigate more efficiently.
By assigning distinct color treatments to different content categories, the interface became easier to scan, reducing cognitive load and improving findability.
Resource-Driven and Built for Everyday Use
Above all, MCD Access needed to function as a reliable daily tool.
The design was intentionally simple and highly functional, prioritizing clarity over decoration. Information architecture and visual hierarchy were carefully structured to help employees quickly locate documents, updates, and resources.
Color-coded content, consistent layouts, and clear navigation patterns worked together to create an experience that felt approachable, efficient, and easy to use, even for first-time users.
A Scalable Foundation for Internal Communication
The final result was a cohesive, scalable intranet system designed to support McDonald’s internal communication needs over time.
By combining modular design principles, responsive layouts, and brand-informed usability patterns, the platform delivered a flexible foundation capable of evolving alongside the organization.
