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CASE STUDIES
Redesigning the mobile experience to improve TV customer conversion
Designing the LinkedIn for the outdoor adventure industry
Designing the LinkedIn for the outdoor adventure industry
Project Scope
Three-week client project collaborating with a fellow UX designer to improve the user onboarding process and redesign this early-stage startup's landing page while developing content to better explain their value proposition.
My role - Lead UI/UX designer, user tester & researcher, marketing assistant
The Problem
As a new brand, Desta is developing a following and has a brand that relies on outdoor professionals completing a free, online profile to entice more employers to pay for job postings. However, very few guides and instructors understood Desta's value proposition nor felt inspired to complete the sign up process, so we came aboard to help.
The UX Process
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User research & interviews
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Competitive analysis
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Design studio & sketching
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High fidelity wireframes
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Content & copywriting
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Usability testing
What the Research Told Us
Desta's primary users (outdoor guides & instructors) felt this tool would be helpful to find job opportunities, but are not generally "techy" and needed the sign up process to be simple & fast.
First-time users of the site did not feel inspired to become part of the Desta ecosystem by signing up based on the team's original landing page design and calls-to-action.
Employers are the main revenue drivers for Desta, but without access to qualified guides, they were unwilling to pay for job postings, increasing the need for an improved sign up process.
The Muck
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1
After conducting a competitive analysis, we had an initial meeting with our client Joe, the founder of Desta. We then immediately sent out a survey and began interviewing outdoor industry professionals. This led to our first sketches to get the design ideas flowing.
2
My colleague and I completed a design studio to get our more "formalized" sketches on paper so that we could begin moving right into designing our high fidelity wireframes.
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I was in charge of designing the landing page. My first design catered to our two stakeholders: that of the guide and that of the employer. But we quickly realized Desta's overall value proposition was not clear enough and the call to action was weak.
4
Version 2 focused on a cleaner, more minimalistic design. While this would serve as the model for the final version, it still missed the mark when it came to inspiring users to complete a profile - one of the major goals of our work with the team - while clearly stating Desta's value.
The Lessons Learned
Mobile first! The ask from the Desta team was for a desktop solution, but we should have put more consideration into the mobile design from the start, especially when trying to simplify and expedite the user sign up process. We made the decision to stick with the desktop only design based on the client needs and the timeframe we had to deliver something of immediate value.
Users are users! We spoke with many users that fit our target audience, but we spent too much time waiting to hear back from potential testers instead of having non-outdoor professionals test our prototypes and iterations.
Push for good change! Many people commented on the color choices for Desta's brand, mostly expressing a general dislike of the purple. Instead of researching and suggesting a new color palette, we simply explained that this was their brand and what we had to work with. This was a missed opportunity to further improve their design and feel.
The Solution
Redesigned landing page with stronger value proposition for users and clearer call to action
More inspirational and streamlined sign up process to entice more users to complete a free profile
Redesigned profile page that better communicates important info about guides for employers
The Designs
High fidelity wireframes completed using Sketch
Roll your mouse, click or tap on the red dots for some notes on the design & process
"Pat was one of the best designers I have worked with in a long time. He is a leader who showed not only an exceptional ability to design something beautiful and user friendly, but to talk to customers and relay his thoughts and ideas to the leadership team. As an engineer, he made my job easy. He (and Sam) gave me all the necessary files and annotations needed to implement the design, while also making an exceptional user experience that is going to make a major impact."
• Chris Nixon, CTO & Lead Designer of Desta
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