Intranet design: crafting experiences that reflect your brand

From financial institutions and engineering firms to consumer goods companies and healthcare companies, these diverse organizations share a common achievement: They’ve created digital environments that genuinely reflect who they are. By investing in meaningful names, visual consistency, engaging videos, and creative functionality, they’ve crafted intranets that strengthen cultural identity and cultivate deeper employee connections.

The Simpplr Employee Experience Excellence Award winners featured in this blog show that intranet design goes far beyond functional layouts and standard features. Their approaches demonstrate that intentional creative choices can significantly enhance adoption, boost engagement, and make daily work more enjoyable for their entire workforce.

Tell your story through video

When it comes to employee communication, nothing beats the power of video. These winners for Best Video Content created compelling visual content that boosted intranet engagement, strengthened culture, and deepened strategic alignment across their organizations.

Lantheus

Lantheus is the leading radiopharmaceutical-focused company, delivering life-changing science to enable clinicians to “Find, Fight, and Follow” disease to deliver better patient outcomes.

Every video shared on their intranet, Lantheus Central, serves a clear purpose: driving engagement, deepening strategic alignment, or strengthening company culture. Their strategy includes a diverse mix of content, each with a distinct approach.

Their visual intranet content includes:

• Quarterly patient story videos that connect employees to their purpose
• Campaign-focused videos for high-profile initiatives like the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk
• Leadership videos featuring their CEO and key leaders
• Holiday messages that blend company achievements with personal touches

Their patient-focused videos are particularly impactful, with one featuring an employee’s personal journey with prostate cancer. These stories create emotional connections between employees’ daily work and the real-world impact of their products.

“At Lantheus, patients are at the heart of what we do, and we, as a Corporate Communications team, strive to make sure each of our employees, no matter what their role, understands the real-world impact of their work. One way in which we help support this narrative is through patient videos.” — Molly Aulson, Internal Communications Manager

Nutrition Warehouse

Australia’s leading supplement and sports nutrition retailer, Nutrition Warehouse is known for its customer-first retail model, product transparency, and dedication to wellness culture.

How do you boost engagement survey participation when you have a geographically diverse team spread across 115+ stores in Australia and New Zealand? Nutrition Warehouse took an authentically grassroots approach with their Engagement Survey Call to Action video, letting employees speak directly to their peers about positive changes resulting from previous feedback.

Rather than creating a polished corporate message or imposing participation targets, they compiled raw, unscripted selfie videos from team members who shared their favorite initiatives that were generated from past surveys. The video demonstrated that employee feedback leads to real company change, serving as the centerpiece of their survey campaign.

The results were remarkable:

• Doubled their previous engagement survey participation rate
• Achieved their highest survey completion rate in company history
• Bridged geographical divides across their widespread retail network
• Created a shared sense of purpose throughout the organization
• Empowered employees to influence company direction

“This video was the start of something special. It’s not only had a lasting impact on team engagement, but it’s also amplified our culture and continues to echo our values: Deliver WOW, Give a Sh!t, Stronger Every Day, Together We Grow, and Enjoy the Journey. We’re proud of what our team created and achieved and feel that their video is deserving of an epic win!” — Tenille Hefford, People & Culture Business Partner (Australia & New Zealand)

Sunrun

As the nation’s leading residential solar, battery storage, and clean energy lifestyle company, Sunrun empowers homeowners to take control of their energy use while promoting sustainable living and decarbonization.

At Sunrun, intranet video content serves as a dynamic tool for bringing their mission to life: connecting people to the cleanest energy on earth. Their comprehensive video strategy spans multiple formats designed to recognize, inform, inspire, and motivate employees across the organization.

Their video content falls into three strategic categories:

• Recognition and information videos like their weekly RunX Studio series, quarterly All Hands, and Air Spotlight employee features
• Inspirational content highlighting company values and giving initiatives
• Motivational videos showcasing competitions and celebrating top performers

This diverse library of content helps employees feel more connected to the company’s purpose, creating touchpoints that recognize contributions, share important updates, and reinforce their mission-driven culture. Through consistent, engaging video storytelling, Sunrun creates a cohesive narrative that ties individual contributions to their larger purpose.

“Connecting our mission to employees’ everyday contributions is so important, and our videos offer another gateway to do just that — help employees feel more inspired, motivated, and recognized.” — Brooke White, Senior Content Specialist

Create a distinctive visual identity

Successful intranets reflect the organizations they serve. The winners of Best Branding have intranet platforms that showcase thoughtful design through color palettes, typography, and visual elements that reinforce company identity and strengthen employees’ connection to the company mission.

Atwell LLC

Atwell LLC is a national consulting, engineering, and construction services firm with offices throughout the country. The firm delivers a broad range of strategic and creative solutions to clients in three core markets: real estate and land development, power and energy, and oil and gas.

Atwell’s intranet, The Advisor, has infused their digital workplace with a true brand experience. Inspired by their core mission to serve as trusted advisors to clients, the name extends this philosophy internally, positioning their intranet as a reliable advisor to employees throughout their tenure with the company. 

Their intranet design includes thoughtful elements such as:

• Modified “i” in the logo inspired by  subsidiary RVi’s curved shapes
• Red circle that pays homage to Atwell’s iconic mobius symbol
• Color palette that incorporates selected colors from each company brand
• Shared visual elements like topography patterns that reflect the AEC industry
• Consistent application of triangular patterns derived from the Atwell logo

These design choices ensure every team member across their family of companies feels represented and connected, creating a unified digital experience that reinforces their collective identity while respecting individual brand elements.

“More than just a tool, The Advisor fosters connection, pride, and engagement. It proves that branding isn’t just about visuals but about creating a meaningful and cohesive experience.” — Lauren Longest, Digital Communications Manager

Credit Acceptance

Credit Acceptance was founded by a car dealer and built on the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to finance a vehicle, regardless of credit history. They are improving the well-being of credit-challenged Americans by helping dealers extend the trust and respect they deserve and the financing they need to achieve their full potential.

For Credit Acceptance, branding goes far beyond company colors. Their intranet, PRIDEnet, named after their PRIDE values (Positive, Respectful, Insightful, Direct, Earnest), demonstrates a comprehensive approach to internal branding that creates visual consistency, reinforces culture, and improves employee experience.

Their intranet design strategy includes:

• Internal brand guidelines as an extension of external marketing guidelines
• Prominent visual placement of company purpose and strategy roadmaps
• Consistent content badges that help employees quickly identify content types
• Real employee photos instead of stock imagery to strengthen community
• Branded content series for recurring events and team member resource groups
• Consistent site layouts that create visual cohesion across departments

In their remote-first environment, these branding elements do more than create visual consistency — they embody company culture. Their approach helps employees identify different content types at a glance, from corporate announcements to diversity initiatives, creating a more intuitive and engaging digital experience.

“For us, branding is more than company colors. It’s thoughtfully weaving our culture and branding into everything we do. It’s recognizing our team members and using the culture as our team brand.” — Krystal Barrad, Internal Communications, Intranet Management

Liliʻuokalani Trust

Founded by Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, Liliʻuokalani Trust supports the well-being of Native Hawaiian children and families through culturally grounded programs and services.

Liliʻuokalani Trust’s intranet demonstrates how culture and language can inform thoughtful design choices. Named Ipukukui, which in Hawaiian means “to be a guiding light,” their intranet visually reinforces this concept through carefully considered design elements.

Their distinctive visual approach includes:

• A gradient background that mimics light shining from bottom right to top left
• Favicon and site profile images designed to evoke a lighthouse beam
• Thoughtful integration of Hawaiian language and cultural concepts

This elegant alignment between name meaning and visual execution creates a cohesive, culturally relevant digital environment that reflects the organization’s unique heritage and mission. The design choices deepen the connection between their digital workspace and their cultural identity, creating a meaningful employee experience.

“Our implementation specialist told us we have one of the best-designed sites he’s seen in a while.” — David Onoue, Manager, Communications and Marketing

Choose a name that resonates

Beyond clever wordplay, meaningful names create lasting digital identities. The winners of Best Intranet Name developed names that authentically reflect company culture and create a sense of place in the digital work environment.

Bozzuto

Bozzuto is an experience-focused real estate company distinguished by its innovative developments, dedicated customer service, and top-rated workplace culture. With award-winning expertise in homebuilding, multifamily development, construction, and management, Bozzuto is devoted to delivering extraordinary experiences for those they serve.

The company’s intranet name, The Green, emerged from collaborative brainstorming across multiple departments, including Corporate Communications, Learning & Leadership,  and Marketing.

Their name reflects several aspects of their identity:

• Ties to Bozzuto’s signature green brand color
• References spaces like parks and courtyards — central gathering places in real estate
• Embodies their mission to “create sanctuary” by providing a digital gathering place
• Symbolizes growth and connection, reflecting their values and culture

The name creates an immediate sense of place, transforming their digital workplace from a tool into a destination. 

“With the launch of The Green, Bozzuto sought to create a brand-aligned environment that nurtures engagement, belonging, and recognition.” — Caroline Gray, Employee Engagement Specialist

Domtar

A leading provider of forest products, Domtar manufactures everyday essential products used around the world, like paper, wood pulp, 100% recycled packaging, tissue products, lumber, and other wood products.

Domtar’s intranet name, plaNET, emerged during a significant organizational transition that integrated three separate brands under the Domtar umbrella.

The clever wordplay serves several purposes:

• Functions in both their required company languages (English and Québécois French)
• Reflects Domtar’s environmental focus and commitment to sustainability
• Represents bringing multiple companies together in one, digital “planet” and orbit
• Positions plaNET as “The world of Domtar at your fingertips”

The name bridges their business transition, brand values, and multilingual requirements, creating a unifying digital identity during a time of organizational transformation. This thoughtful naming approach helps employees from different legacy companies feel connected to the new, integrated organization.

The design of the plaNET logo also incorporates Domtar’s seedling brand mark — a symbol of their new beginning as a single brand and of the potential and growth they are fostering as one Domtar.

“By stylizing the plaNET name and focusing on our commitment to leaving our earth better than we found it, our team created an intranet name that works for both of our required company languages — English and Québécois French — and keeps sustainability at our core.” — Lauren Hultz, Director, Digital Communications and Brand Management

Sargent & Lundy

Founded in 1891, Sargent & Lundy is a global leader in engineering and design for the power industry. When it came time to name a new intranet, the firm turned to its employees. The winning choice, The Loop, was selected through an employee vote and brilliantly connects to multiple aspects of their company identity and culture.

The Loop creates a sense of community at Sargent & Lundy by connecting to its:

• Geographic roots: Referencing its headquarter’s location in a vibrant and historic Chicago neighborhood called The Loop
• Historical legacy: Connecting to the firm’s 130+ year history, including its role in helping electrify Chicago’s “L” train tracks in 1897
• Communication philosophy: Evoking the importance of feedback loops and continuous communication
• Technical expertise: Alluding to electrical circuit loops as a nod to the company’s engineering work in power generation and transmission projects

This multilayered name celebrates Sargent & Lundy’s heritage while reinforcing the intranet’s core purpose of keeping more than 4,200 employees connected and engaged. By creating an immediate sense of place and belonging, The Loop transforms its intranet from a simple communication tool into a destination with deep historical and cultural resonance.

“What makes The Loop special isn’t just the clever wordplay. It’s that our employees selected it themselves. They saw the connections to our culture of continuous communication and our rich history as a pioneer in the power industry.” — Brenda Romero, Corporate Communications

Think beyond standard features

Standard features only scratch the surface of what intranets can do. The winners of Most Creative Use of an Intranet reimagined their digital workplaces with unexpected elements — from curated playlists to live metric dashboards — creating engaging spaces that employees genuinely want to visit.

JM Wilson Corporation

A managing general agency and surplus lines broker, JM Wilson partners with independent agents to deliver customized insurance solutions backed by deep market knowledge.

JM Wilson transformed their intranet, connect, into a vibrant community hub through creative content strategies that engage employees beyond standard business communications. Their innovative approach focuses on fostering genuine connections and making workdays more engaging through unexpected elements.

Their creative intranet features include:

• Collaborative team playlists for different seasons and moods
• Interactive scavenger hunts that encourage exploration of intranet resources
• Company history bingo challenges that blend fun with learning
• Employee cookbook for recipe sharing
• Creative poll questions that spark personal conversations
• Values in Action recognition integrated with Salesforce 
• The Hangout site for personal sharing (fundraisers, vacation photos, hobbies)
• Weekly Friday Funny memes and jokes submitted by employees

These elements expand their intranet beyond business functionality to a dynamic social space that strengthens connections across teams and locations. By intentionally blending work information with personal engagement opportunities, they’ve created a digital environment where employees want to spend time.

“At JM Wilson, our intranet is more than just a tool — it’s a thriving hub that allows all team members to receive a unified message, find valuable resources, as well as engage with and contribute to the conversation.” — Jessica Allers, Agency Information Coordinator

Pagaya

Pagaya uses AI-driven data analysis to reinvent financial decision-making, helping lenders expand access to credit through scalable, automated risk assessment technologies.

Through creative use of their intranet, Hello, Pagaya upgraded standard employee wellness and engagement initiatives to immersive digital experiences. Their innovative approach brought teams together across their global organization through interactive, multimedia-rich challenges.

Their creative intranet implementations include:

• A comprehensive Walk This Way Challenge with a dedicated intranet site
• Weekly themed photo challenges that earned participants Pagaya Points
• Custom video showcases celebrating winning teams and memorable moments
• Expanded reward categories beyond step counts to recognize creativity and teamwork
• Pets of Pagaya contest with interactive voting and personalized rewards

These initiatives blend gamification, multimedia content, and social connection to create experiences that transcend typical intranet usage. By combining physical challenges with digital engagement, they’ve created companywide movements that bring global teams together in meaningful ways, strengthening their culture across geographical boundaries.

“Through a combination of interactive features and personalized rewards, the Pets of Pagaya contest created a memorable experience that helped us all feel more connected to each other, no matter where we are in the world.” — Olivia Lengyel, Associate, Internal Communications and Engagement

Tata Consumer Products

Part of the global Tata Group, Tata Consumer Products combines heritage brands, such as Tata Tea, Tata Salt, Tetley, Eight O’Clock Coffee, and Himalayan water, with a vision to delight consumers through trusted food and beverage offerings.

When Tata Consumer Products transitioned from SharePoint to their new Simpplr intranet, My Tata Consumer, their challenge was to get colleagues to adopt the platform. Their content strategy revolved around making their people company ambassadors and coming up with visual assets, storylines, and distinct content series they could all relate to.

Their innovative intranet design features include:

• Branded content series with distinct visual identities (Team of the Month, LeaderConnect for Better, Slice of Life)
• Series-specific logos, color schemes, and content formats that build recognition and relatability
• Creative contests like nature photography with company products to get people excited and encourage participation
• Mobile app rollout with custom digital assets (stickers, GIFs, banners)
• Brand collaboration campaigns, including a movie tie-in selfie contest with Tata Tea and “Pushpa 2”

Their approach created vibrant brand experiences that have established enduring connections with employees, and many now actively seek information through these branded channels. When they also rebranded their mobile app, they enabled their brands and their teams to roll out contests for higher engagement. 

“By developing distinct visual identities, we’ve improved engagement while creating stronger associations with our company culture and values. The award for creative use of the intranet is a validation of the route we embarked on and the numerous possibilities that are yet to be explored.” — Satya Muniasamy, Director, Global Communications

Key takeaways for impactful intranet design

Exceptional intranet design expands beyond aesthetics to creating digital spaces that authentically reflect your organization’s identity. These Simpplr Employee Experience Excellence Award winners demonstrate several design principles that any organization can apply to transform their intranet experience.

Align branding with organizational purpose

The most successful intranets visually embody company values and mission. Consider how your intranet’s name, visual identity, and content structure can reflect what makes your organization unique. When intranet design choices tell your story, employees experience a stronger connection to your digital workplace and, by extension, to your organization’s larger reason for being.

Integrate design elements thoughtfully

Establish visual consistency without being too rigid. Create intranet brand guidelines that respect your external identity while adapting elements for internal audiences. Thoughtful color palettes, typography choices, and visual patterns create a cohesive experience that feels professionally designed yet approachable and distinct.

Use video to create emotional connections

Creative video content reaches employees on a deeper level than text alone. Develop a comprehensive video strategy for community building that includes different formats, including high-production pieces for major announcements, candid leadership messages, and authentic employee-generated content. Even simple videos can create powerful connections when they tell meaningful stories.

Design for cultural inclusivity

For organizations with diverse workforces or multiple locations, ensure your intranet design accommodates different cultural contexts and languages. Consider how naming conventions, imagery, and content structure can create a welcoming environment for all employees while still maintaining brand cohesion.

Make your intranet a go-to digital hub

The most engaging intranets feel like virtual places that employees want to visit. Thoughtful naming, creative features, and unexpected elements transform utilitarian platforms into vibrant spaces. Whether through interactive features, creative contests, or personalized experiences, design choices can make your intranet an integral part of daily work life.

Craft your own design-forward intranet

The award winners featured in this blog demonstrate how intentional design elevates the employee experience beyond basic functionality. Using Simpplr’s modern intranet, these organizations have created digital environments that reflect who they are and what they value.

Their success stories prove that thoughtful design is not a luxury but a strategic necessity. When your intranet genuinely reflects your organization’s identity, it fosters deeper connection, strengthens cultural alignment, and creates a more engaging employee experience.

Ready to transform your intranet from functional to exceptional? Learn how Simpplr’s employee experience platform can help you express your unique brand identity. Request a demo today.