Client: auDA
Industry: Digital infrastructure/
not-for-profit organisation
Editorial design
Information hierarchy
Print production
Finished artwork
Illustration: Lilian Darmono
Helping auDA make websites and email feel less intimidating
For many small business owners, creating a website or setting up a professional email address can feel surprisingly overwhelming. Technical jargon, unfamiliar platforms and an endless list of decisions often become barriers to getting started.
auDA – the administrator of Australia's .au domain – wanted to remove that friction by creating practical, easy-to-follow guides that helped small businesses build their online presence with confidence.
auDA's marketing team commissioned me to design a series of editorial publications that translated detailed technical information into clear, approachable resources while remaining true to the organisation's established brand.
The Challenge
The guides were intentionally comprehensive, covering every stage of building a simple website or creating a custom email address.
The challenge wasn't creating more content – it was helping readers navigate a large amount of information without feeling overwhelmed.
The audience consisted of small business owners with basic computer skills but little technical experience. Every design decision needed to support confidence and clarity, making the guides feel approachable rather than intimidating.
At the same time, the publications needed to remain consistent with auDA's established visual identity while creating a flexible editorial system that could support different types of content including step-by-step instructions, comparison tables, diagrams and reference material.
Approach
Rather than treating the guides as traditional brochures, I approached them as instructional publications designed to be used throughout a customer's journey.
The first step was developing an editorial system from scratch. While auDA had comprehensive brand guidelines, there wasn't an existing publication template to build from. I created a layout framework that balanced consistency with flexibility, allowing dense technical content to remain visually engaging and easy to navigate.
Information hierarchy became the backbone of the project. Clear chapter structures, numbered steps, call-outs, diagrams and supporting illustrations helped readers quickly understand where they were in the process and what to do next.
Where appropriate, I also developed additional illustrations in auDA's existing visual style (developed by Lilian Darmono), ensuring new assets integrated seamlessly with the broader brand while providing visual cues that reinforced the written content.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with multiple stakeholders, refining layouts, simplifying the presentation of complex information and preparing the publications for both professional print production and downloadable digital formats.
The Outcome
The first publication, Build a website for your small business, was well received internally, leading auDA to commission a second guide covering professional email setup using a .au domain..
Following the success of both publications, I was also commissioned to update the existing .au Product Guide, that I had designed previously, creating a cohesive family of editorial resources across the organisation.
The guides continue to be publicly available through the auDA website, providing practical resources for Australian small businesses looking to establish their online presence.
Explore the Guides
You can download the finished publications directly from auDA:
