A client came to us with an idea for a cloud storage application and we designed one for musicians in an effort to alleviate the stress points of long distance collaboration. Our role was to create a brand, design a product and test it with users. Using Figma, Sketch, Invision, Maze and Google Forms, we researched, designed and built prototypes for our users, testing and retesting to create an intuitive and seamless experience.
Our client came to us with a vague idea of a cloud storage application with a few features in mind; sharing, saving content, creating content, and organizing content in some way. With such a wide range of paths available, it fell to us to research a user base, create a brand, design a product, and test it out. We were responsible for everything from UX Research to Information Hierarchy to Prototype creation and polishing.
Our solution was a collaboration app for music engineers. Our research showed stress points in long distance work between different kinds of creators and a need for an online control center for their tracks. We created a style guide, deliverables such as font styling for branding and descriptive text, hi fidelity mockups of different media, images and icons.
The biggest takeaway from this project was the ability and necessity to go back and review our work at every step, to think of the viability of the product and continue to generate new solutions. Pre-user survey research was found to be key as well. This would eliminate generalized thinking going forward and allow for more focused work and questions for testers. The biggest doubt going into the project was the client brief itself. It was very vague, with almost no information on what exactly we ought to be making. There was no target audience, no clear idea of what kind of product we wanted other than a cloud based storage app, and no research on the client’s part for unique features and attributes. While this gave us a lot of options to pursue, it also put most of the work on the research team, relying on them to answer all the basic questions the client should have had some kind of idea of. The first read of the brief felt like the idea itself wasn’t viable without more work. The biggest surprise was the different paths users found to accomplish a task. They opened new ways of thinking of navigation for us, and taught us that it is important to allow for multiple paths through a product. Had we been given more time, we would have done far more research and testing on a larger audience. Finding musicians to test was difficult in the short period we were given and we would have benefitted from a larger base of testers. The lessons learned in this project will carry with us through future designs, reminding us the importance of initial research and informal information for concept ideas.
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