Working with a brand like this is both a privilege and a responsibility. Its digital presence is not merely a communication channel but a business-critical infrastructure: news sites, mobile applications, VOD platforms, live voting solutions, and advertising systems together form an ecosystem that serves hundreds of thousands of users daily — and, at peak moments, even several million.

When Virgo won the tender in 2019 to redesign rtl.hu, it was clear from the very beginning that this would not be a classic redesign project. The task was to transform a live, business-critical system used on a daily basis, on tight deadlines and within an existing infrastructure. Although the brief primarily focused on design and frontend renewal, Virgo already approached the project as a brownfield development. The solutions had to fit into the existing system while remaining scalable and maintainable in the long term.

Project Goal: Creating a Hybrid News Platform

During the first project, the goal was to redesign rtl.hu, a platform built around a video-first mindset. In the second project, we were tasked with renewing the site’s functionality as well — basically, Virgo was asked to create a full-scale news site.

Virgo’s task extended far beyond refreshing the visual appearance. The team was responsible for designing the entire UX/UI concept as well as delivering both frontend and backend development, ensuring optimal performance across web and mobile platforms alike.

Challenges: Complexity and Live Environment

The greatest challenge was the integration of various content types. The platform had to simultaneously accommodate live TV broadcasts, show-videos and text-based news, while ensuring a unified and coherent user experience. We needed to develop UX solutions that supported the editorial team’s new operating model and ensured stable performance even under heavy traffic.

All of this took place during a period when, prior to the rebranding, the site had to remain recognizable and usable with temporary visual elements in place, while the forward-looking concept had already been defined.

Research and Planning: The Foundations of Joint Thinking

Virgo began the work with UX research to uncover editorial, business, and user needs. In-depth interviews were conducted with leaders from various areas of RTL to understand the future model of content creation, monetization expectations, and operational challenges.

Mapping user journeys helped reveal how visitors navigate the site, what types of content they consume, and where it makes sense to encourage further content consumption. The homepage, the article pages, and the show pages went through multiple iterations, with continuous alignment with the RTL team to harmonize business, editorial, and technological considerations.

Design and Visual System

The visual concept was built on a long-term, sustainable, and extensible design system. The work started with mood boards and the definition of visual directions, resulting in a UI direction that paved the way for the rebranding, while temporary visual elements ensured recognizability during the transition period.

The design system provided a unified approach to colors, typography, grids, and components, laying the foundation for future platform expansions and adaptation to other digital surfaces.

Technology: Performance and Scalability

Virgo built a modern, Vue.js 3–based single-page application with server-side rendering to ensure SEO and performance. Dynamic content was delivered via REST APIs, and the system was integrated with external authentication and push notification solutions. The development approach was cross-platform, enabling web and mobile applications to be developed in parallel in a cost-efficient manner.

A Deepening Partnership

Following the successful launch, the collaboration quickly expanded. More and more tenders followed, now affecting not only the website but the entire digital presence: reimagining design systems, developing the news portal, mobile applications, VOD-related solutions, and campaign sites.

In the meantime, a completely custom homepage editor was created behind rtl.hu, integrated directly into the existing CMS. This tool allowed editors a high degree of freedom in shaping the homepage, while the technical framework ensured consistency and stability.

The collaboration did not operate on a project-by-project basis but through continuous support. New needs, new content and business goals emerged, to which Virgo responded quickly and as a partner. During this period, Virgo’s role went far beyond classic development tasks. The team maintained a constant presence: supporting, maintaining, and thinking together with RTL’s digital team about new requirements, business objectives, and content directions.

Live Shows: The Real Test of the System

One of the biggest challenges of the collaboration was the digital voting systems connected to live shows. Voting for X-Factor and other entertainment programmes generated traffic spikes that are difficult to prepare for using traditional planning methods. As a result, the mobile application and voting system associated with X-Factor was not only a development challenge but also an operational one.

Scalability, stability, and the legal environment (studio, notary, live production) all came into play at the same time. Virgo’s team was present at RTL’s headquarters during live broadcasts, working closely with operations and production teams. The first live vote that ran stably was a major milestone: confirmation that the architecture, operations, and collaboration all performed well in a live environment.

Design and Development in a Shared System

The RTL-project was a defining milestone for Virgo from an internal perspective as well. This was where the operating model truly matured — one in which design and development are not sequential steps but parts of a single, shared thinking process.

We were literally sitting next to each other: while designing, we were already thinking about how it would be developed — and vice versa.

Component-based design, shared prototyping, and immediate technical feedback made it possible for planned solutions to take development, maintenance, and scalability considerations into account from the very moment they were created.

This confidence defined the project from start to finish and later became one of Virgo’s core strengths in other collaborations as well.

Partnership in Everyday Work

Over the years, the relationship gradually evolved from a client–vendor setup into a genuine partnership. New projects, shared decisions, and mutual trust all reinforced this transformation. Trust was built step by step, but at a certain point it became clear:

Changes in scope, tight deadlines, and the need to align the interests of many stakeholders at RTL did not become sources of conflict, but shared challenges. The challenges did not disappear, they became manageable through open communication, joint decision-making, and sometimes even informal conversations. The focus was always on maintaining balance between business goals, content, and user experience.

Impact on Virgo’s operations

The RTL-project became more than just a key reference for Virgo. It served as a milestone for the company’s evolution. It reinforced the strategic role of design and the integrated operation of design and development, helping Virgo position itself not merely as a development shop, but as a provider of complex digital solutions. The methodologies developed during this collaboration — especially the close cooperation between design and development — have continued to shape the company’s operations ever since. As the team put it: they grew not only professionally but also became more adaptable on a personal level.

Summary

The shared story of Virgo and RTL clearly demonstrates how a successful tender can evolve into a long-term digital partnership. This collaboration is not the story of a closed project, but that of a continuously evolving digital ecosystem that simultaneously shapes the operations of a nationwide media brand and the professional identity of a digital agency. The story highlights that digital success is not only about technology, but also about trust, shared thinking, and adapting together to challenges.