Effex
Effex is cloud-based software that allows professionals in the pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing or food sector to craft precise tests, secure top-tier data, and easily extract insights from the gathered data.
Driving chemical experiments is increasingly complex because of an expanding array of parameters that need to be tested. This complexity demands substantial time and human resources. Additionally, the bar for product quality is being pushed higher and higher over time. Effex wants to address these challenges. They help scientists with running effective and time-efficient experiments. But they could use some of our help too..
When we teamed up with Effex, we noticed some big challenges that were crucial for both the company as scientists to succeed in their laboratory experiments. We wanted to understand what worked well and what didn't so we dove deep into Effex's UI and UX system to figure out what needed a serious boost! Turns out, Effex didn't have a solid design system, which made their product look all over the place. This affected users, because the interface design was inconsistent. Plus, the whole structure of the product was a bit of a mess, making it confusing for users to navigate through the analysis of their experiment. To get things on track, we started with developing a robust design system. This served as a foundation for rebuilding the most critical user flows.
In Smooth Sailing we believe in collaborative partnership workflow. It always helps to create more dynamic exchange between our clients and us. We openly share common goals, feedback and things that we liked in a creative process - the same was in Effex case. This way of working helps us to quickly drive continuous growth. It's a perpetual cycle of cooperation, fostering mutual understanding and innovation. It’s important to understand that this loop thrives on open communication, feedback integration, and synchronised efforts. This collaborative loop leads to a flow of ideas and actions that elevate each participant and ultimately nurtures a robust and enduring partnership. Let’s see how our approach looks like, step by step!
01 / step
First we collect data from various sources such as user research, surveys, analytics, and market trends. This is all about understanding the problem.
02 / step
Once data is gathered, we analyze it and extract meaningful insights. This involves identifying patterns, trends, and user behaviors that inform our decisions.
03 / step
Using the insights gained, we then create design solutions or improvements. This might include prototyping, testing concepts, and refining ideas based on initial feedback.
04 / step
We gather feedback from users, stakeholders, and other relevant parties. This feedback could be both qualitative (through interviews or open-ended questions) or quantitative (through surveys or metrics).
05 / step
We refine the design and implemented these changes, based on the feedback received.
06 / step
This feedback loop is an ongoing process. For us it's important to continuously gather feedback, refine the product, and make improvements to meet evolving user needs and market demands.
Doing effective User Experience (UX) research, sets the foundation for crafting a product that truly resonates with its users. Understanding the needs, behaviours, and preferences of a product’s users is the key to delivering a seamless and satisfying experience. We always chose the most effective research and analysis method to each individual problem. In this case we decided to use high contrast colours and clear visual style so that scientists could quickly scan through the data. We made sure, that tables are built in the most efficient way to speed up user process. It was also important for Effex, to attract young scientists, so we had to rework used colours to give product fresh and innovative look.
User flows are the architectural plans for a smooth user experience. It helps our team to understand journey that users take within a software product and it helps refine interactions for intuitive navigation. It’s important to pinpoint and refine even short pathways. For that reason, we need to know at which stages users are having difficulties. When we are aware of the issues, we can start improving those.
At the heart of every great product lies the spark of an idea – and that's where the magic begins. Once analyse is done and we have all needed data, we can jump into the design process. From brainstorming sessions to wireframe sketching in Figma; this creative journey fuels the birth of concepts.
For Effex, we redesigned structure of the dashboard to keep the scientists workflow in one desktop view so they can still define their project’s parameters, without constantly having to scroll down to change data. Which saves them crucial time!
Ideating helps us to come up with intuitive and impactful interfaces. For Effex we decided to design several propositions for Catalog Seach screen - which contains a lot of crucial elements. Creating designs helps us to communicate with client to decide, which option works the best both for usability and visual context. We also wanted to make sure, that design looks fresh and will be adjusted also to young scientists needs. This is critical phase when we collect as much ideas as possible, which are then translated in effective concepts that align with the user needs.
A design system is a foundational toolkit for UI development. It's a guide that houses reusable components and guidelines. Effex didn't has visual identity yet, however team provided us with their colour palette. It was enough for us! We quickly established colour hierarchy and started creating interface elements, step by step. Our aim was to build design system to later be able to maintain a unified visual language for interface. It's structured approach, supports scalability and adaptability as the interface evolves.
Design systems are a common topic if you work in product design. Creating such a system is often sold as the fix to all of your product’s design, scaling and consistency issues. But is it really the best solution for your product?
By Dieter Peirs
Colours, sizes and positioning of buttons and forms can make a big difference in usability. Having a well designed design system, will help Effex to keep consistency and efficiency across the whole product. When other designers jump into the project, they will use components that are created within the design system. It saves time and allows for fast product expansion and adaptation without compromising consistency.
Izix
Next case study
After Izix split from it’s mother company Bepark, they lacked a clear prioritisation process. Competing interests from stakeholders also pulled their team in a different directions. We stepped in and helped them cash in on existing product opportunities.