RiseSmart
Design Overview
Concepts & Foundations
MY CONTRIBUTION
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Conducted periodic user studies on product
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Provided Competitive and Web Trend analysis
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Designed Next Generation concepts – dashboard, navigation, question formats and explorations of look and feel
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Compiled Task Analysis of accounting procedures for internal product
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Created Client Personas
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Created Product Styleguide – look and feel “cheat sheets”, resources for localization, accessibility and UI patterns
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Provided Quality Assurance
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Reviewed end-to-end client experience
RiseSmart - Outplacement Product
RiseSmart is disrupting the Outplacement space by integrating human services and technology in new ways. One of the key components of their solution is a personalized job search engine coupled with an in-depth user profile that maximize search results.
About This Project
This is a pre-release product and bound by non-disclosure agreements; what I can show is high-level concepts and mockup examples.
We were a small product team, which provided me the opportunity to contribute/lead/exercise within many areas of the product.
This page shows some of the Next Generation work I was doing. The focus for my examples were responsive design, navigation and simplifying forms.
The mindset of a person that has been laid off, is not of a mainstream user. They are upset, most often their self-confidence is shaken. We needed to keep things simple and offer guidance when needed.
To keep on top of the next release we wanted to put together some new interactions and designs so we would be ready when it came time for the next release of the product.
Navigation
After compiling a web trend report for inspiration I was able to work up some ideas for responsive design and the navigation. Along with the high level navigation there was a concept of “Target” that I wanted to up level. A “Target” is a saved company or job posting that the customer was interested in. With these, they could do research, find and network with contacts in common or even apply for a job.
In the current product, the targets were hidden down a level from the landing page. Since targets were, in the customer’s mind, the most important reason that they would return to the application, I felt they needed to be more accessible. In my design, the top 4 “Targets” could be displayed in the app represented by icons floating on the edge of the screen, overlaying the UI. Selecting a target would reveal it’s information and allow the user to proceed in a number of ways.
Form Questions
Perception of complexity with a long multi-question form makes a task daunting. Filling in a profile was critical to a customer’s success, giving their coach and resume writer as much information about themselves as possible.
We’d used wizards before, but this time it was lighter and simpler in look and feel. The user could jump between questions, choose to skip some questions and be offered optional answers that might be appropriate for their profession. Mixing the style of question would keep things more engaging and there would be visual “rewards” for each question answered.
Style Guide
Before development work began I designed a style guide that the offshore development team could utilize. It contained the usual visual elements of color and fonts, component specs, and set patterns for layouts and behaviors. It was set up to grow with the new product.
