Summary: Turn your intranet into a winter wonderland for the holidays with these 5 intranet design tips.
Let’s face it, the holiday season isn’t the most productive time for employees (except for Intranet Connections, of course). There are so many things that preoccupy us at this time of year, whether it be finding that last-minute gift or figuring out how to get to work during snowmageddon. If employees aren’t on holiday yet, they’re counting their last days in the office, and your intranet engagement is most likely suffering. This means it’s the perfect time to give your engagement a boost with a holiday intranet design theme makeover!
1. Keep It General
I recently designed a holiday theme for our own intranet, so I will share some tricks and tips so you can do the same to your intranet. I decided to go for a general winter holiday theme, as opposed to a Christmas theme so that there is no rush to immediately change it once Christmas is over.
Tip: Before you start creating your new intranet design theme, I recommend saving a copy of your current theme. That way you can easily revert to your old theme when the time comes. You can find the option to “save as new theme” at the bottom of the Advanced Design Editor page.
2. Update Your Background Image
Instead of coming up with a whole new concept for your holiday intranet design, you can simply ‘winterize’ your current theme. Try adding some graphics to your current background, such as snowflakes or Christmas lights. This is a great way to save some time while bringing out the spirit of the holiday season. Don’t fret if this concept doesn’t work well with your current theme. You can find countless winter scenes online that will look great as your intranet background.
Tip: Not sure know where to find a good winter background image? A site I like to use that offers completely royalty free photos is Pixabay.com. You can update your background image by navigating to Site Backgrounds in the Advanced Design Editor.
3. Change Your Header Logo
Another important intranet design element to update when creating a holiday theme is your logo. You don’t have to replace your logo entirely, but instead, try adding a holiday greeting underneath or beside your logo. This is a simple way to bring holiday elements to your logo without completely changing it.
Tip: The logo on your intranet displays as an overlay on top of your background image, so it is best to use a PNG file format. Navigate to “upload a graphic/logo” in the Advanced Design Editor to swap in your new logo.
4. Create Themed Icons
Update your navigation bar with holiday-themed icons for each of your navigation headers. You can easily update the icons to be anything you like; try adding a Santa hat, Christmas tree, gift, candy cane, snowflake, or holly. This helps create a holiday atmosphere for your intranet without sacrificing any functionality.
Tip: When creating new navigation icons, make sure you size them to be 24 by 24 pixels and save them in PNG file format. Update the icons by clicking on the edit icon in your navigation bar, then clicking on the section you want to update.
5. Update Your Color Scheme
You can change the overall color scheme of your intranet design, including your navigation menu, widget headers, links, and fonts. These elements can all be easily updated using the Advanced Design Editor
Tip: Red and green aren’t the only Christmas color options; try using blue, white and gray for a subtle holiday color scheme.
I’ve shared a screenshot below of the holiday intranet design theme I created for our own intranet. I winterized our existing theme by adding falling snow and snowcaps to the trees of our background image, updated our logo and tagline, as well as added fun holiday outfits to our squirrel mascot.
By following these intranet design tips, you’ll have your intranet looking like a winter wonderland in no time! Don’t forget, with slight modifications these design ideas can be applied to your intranet during any holiday. Do you have any fun tips or tricks for creating a holiday-themed intranet? Share with us in the comments below!
For more intranet design tips and best practices, including examples, download our Intranet Design Best Practices eBook.
