ROLE

Design Lead

TEAM

PM, Front-end Engineer, SWE, Marketing

TIME

Summer 2022 - Spring 2023

PRODUCT

Octopus (Startup App)

Achievement

As the design lead, I was able to take the product from idea to implementation, creating the first full-service printmake app on the market, attracting 2k+ active users.

Main competitiveness:

  1. With this app, printmakers no longer need to hop over multiple platforms to work, efficiency 32%+

  2. Usability scored 56% better than competitor

Problem

The existing app on the market is outdated. It fulfills basic printmaking needs but lacks key features. It also has poor usability scores.

Design goal

  1. Design new features that address printmakers’ core needs

  2. Improve usability scale scores and visual design

User Research

I conducted 8 interviews and collected 326 responses to posted questionnaire, which generated key insights:

  1. Users experience most negatively in their onboarding, which is not beginner friendly; and poor regulation, which leads to toxic community

  2. Users have negative experience with social features in the competitor app, which lacks important interactions such as “follow”, “like”, and “chat”

  3. Current tool kits are basic, which does not support all the steps in the printmaking process

Competitive Analysis

I also investigated the competitor app on its usability and visual design scales:

They did well:

Provide a core feature to help users piece pictures and connect edges with lines, which is 85% of the reason users stayed

They did poorly:

Poor usability, lack of content regulation, lack of hierarchy

Information Architecture

Based on research analysis and user flows, I listed core features and designed the initial information architecture:

Wireframing

I listed out the product requirements, and explored different layouts and structures of key screens of the app:

Exploring Dashboard, Social Plaza, Materials screens

Exploring User Profile, Post, Feed screens

Mid-fi prototyping and Testing

Key Takeaways:

  1. User path of finding image materials was not intuitive enough, resulting in longer navigation time

  2. Group printmaking is a high frequency action, requiring the feature placed in a more prominent location

  3. The tool box should not hinder other user actions, therefore replacing the popup design

Visual Design

Key Feature

Reach activities and tools with one click

Users are fed with latest posts and activities on landing page.

They are able to reach the tool bar and start working at any point by Tools.

Work Feature

Easy access to printmaking resources

Octopus highlights and provides easy access to key resources for printmakers.

Discover section navigates to images, tutorials, Q&As, and markets. Groups section helps with group printmaking.

Social Feature

Record stories and connect with friends

Octopus allows users to chat with friends, new connections, and groups.

Every user has their own page to showcase their interests, experiences, and stories.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to check out my other projects ⬇️