Case Study 1: Streamlining Self-Serve Design for Better Efficiency
The Stage: Two Platforms, One Objective
Picture this: two self-serve platforms, Avenue (zeroheight) and Branded (Bynder), each loaded with tools for non-designers to quickly whip up stunning marketing materials such as playbooks, documentation and deliverable templates. These platforms were saving our design team from drowning in minor tasks, empowering everyone else to create brand-aligned assets without eating into designers' time. Imagine the freedom, the savings, and the brand consistency. But, alas, we hit some roadblocks.
Avenue was our vault for brand guidelines and the design system, an interactive hub where designers, third party agencies, and colleagues from teams like HR, Marketing, and Sales across Signifyd could find the manual to our brand language and how to implement it effectively. Meanwhile, Branded was the toolshed. It was a DAM and a home to templates for collateral building with ready-to-use content such as stock images and graphics all with built-in approval checks.
The Catch: Too Many Cooks in Two Kitchens
As we grew, we hit a snag. Our challenges were:
Having self-serve scattered across two platforms was like sending our users on a scavenger hunt.
New users spent more time learning the ropes than actually creating.
The platform layouts were about as intuitive as assembling furniture with instructions in a foreign language.
Onboarding was nearly non-existent, leading to off-brand creations, unnecessary design revisions, and a general atmosphere of frustration and inefficiency. The end result? Our users were at times just as lost in our system as Waldo in a crowd.
The Fix: One Super Platform to Rule Them All
Our action plan involved:
Conducting user research intended to help us reveal gaps in design and potential issues for users. In this evaluation, evaluators completed a series of tasks for Avenue and assessed their usability. This included:
Facilitating 50 minute feedback sessions with a diverse set of users on our Sales, HR, and Marketing teams.
There were 6 tasks to complete with 7 Usability Items to rate. Each item was based on a six-point scale, where 5 meant ideal experience and 0 meant no positive experience. During the sessions detailed notes were taken.
Analyzing the data from these sessions which confirmed the issues with the dual platforms and confusing navigation language.
Formulating a plan and finding the perfect solution: Frontify. This platform allowed us to merge our resources into one intuitive, user-friendly space creating a one stop shop.
Utilizing a freelance DAM expert to help us navigate the transition, ensuring the new system was easier to use and more effective than its predecessors.
From Chaos to Clarity: A Design Platform Transformation
Today, our one-stop-shop platform features a streamlined organization system and intuitive navigation. No more hunting for assets or flipping between platforms. Users can easily create brand-aligned assets and find support, and our design team can focus on the bigger picture.
And yes, everyone knows where to find Waldo now.
