ROLE Sole UX/UI Design | Visual/Graphic Design | Wireframing | Prototyping
DURATION January 2024 - January 2025
DESIGN PROCESS Discovery | Ideation | Design | Dev Handoff
TOOLS Figma | Jira
OVerview
Aeśyn (means “creativity”) is a startup that I joined as a designer at an early stage and designed everything from the ground up. The idea of the product is to create a space where brands can effortlessly reach global audiences and allowing creators to express their creativity across different social media platforms.
Business Goals
Develop and launch a MVP within 8 months.
Get 20 brands and 20 creators to join waitlist in the first 6 months.
Track engagement and feedback on early feature previews or prototypes.
Use waitlist data to demonstrate market demand for potential investors.
Problem
In today's digital landscape, brands struggle to find authentic content creators who align with their values, while creators face challenges in securing brand partnerships that match their style and audience. The existing solutions are often time-consuming, inefficient, or lack transparency, leading to mismatched collaborations, inconsistent content quality, and missed opportunities for both parties.
Solution
Introducing, Aeśyn, a data-driven marketing platform connecting brands with the right content creators, ensuring seamless collaboration, and measurable results. By leveraging AI-driven matching, and performance analytics, Aeśyn aims to bridge the gap between brands and creators, fostering more effective and scalable influencer marketing campaigns.
Discovery
Competitive Analysis
When analyzing competitors, I focused on what works, what doesn’t, and gaps in the market that Aeśyn can fill. Here are some key insights:
Many existing platforms focus on large-scale influencer marketing, leaving micro and nano creators underserved.
Some platforms have complex onboarding that discourages new users.
AI-driven matching and smart recommendations are still underdeveloped in many competitor platforms.
discovered Opportunities
Offer a more inclusive marketplace that caters to both small and large creators with better matching.
Provide seamless onboarding.
Offer AI-powered discovery for more effective marketing campaigns.
Ideation
User Story
Aeśyn provided me with a user story and acceptance criteria to focus my designs on.
Title: Content creator onboarding to Aeśyn.
As a content creator, I want to join the platform easily, so that I can connect with brands, collaborate on campaigns, and grow my audience.
Acceptance Criteria
User Flow
To help me highlight the key steps and screens needed, I created a user flow via Lucidchart to act as a visual guide, making it easier for me and the developers to be on the same page as well as ensuring the wireframe and final product support the intended experience.
Wireframe
While collaborating with the team at Aeśyn, I created low-fidelity wireframes to map out the layout of the creator signup flow based on the criteria provided.
Two Major Improvements
Initially, the wireframe had a top navigation. However, according to research, side bar navigation is faster for users to scan and more visually prominent.
After changing the navigation bar, it was decided that we should switch the filters from side to top because it was taking too much space and we wanted a more breathable feel.
Design
Color psycology
When selecting a color theme for the brand, I needed to understand the psychological impact it has on users’ experiences while aiming to create a visually engaging experience that aligns with the brand’s values and objectives.
I choose purple to represent the brand because it inspires creativity which was the desired emotion Aeśyn wanted to convey.
Style Guide
Logo Design
When Aeśyn requested a logo design, I was excited to have the opportunity to create something that symbolizes the whole company. I started with researching illustrations that represent creativity, collaboration, and AI. On pen and paper, I sketched what I imagined with all the inspirations combined then took it digital. After refining my design, I asked Aeśyn for feedback and we came to a final design.
Dev Hand-off
I wanted a seamless handoff to the developers at Aeśyn by providing detailed annotations and measurements. Using the Designdoc plugin, I effectively eliminated potential misunderstandings and communication gaps. I ensured the delivery of accurate versions, guaranteeing that the development team received clear and precise information for a successful implementation.
What’s Next?
The next key phase is developing an interactive prototype and performing usability testing with real users to validate the finalized designs. By observing user interactions and collecting valuable feedback on behavior, preferences, and challenges, we can refine the interface iteratively, ensuring a more seamless and user-friendly experience.
Conclusion
reflection
With Aeśyn being a startup, the initial start of the project was challenging for me because I was the only designer in a team of developers. They heavily relied on me for designing and structuring the interface. Not going to lie, at first, I had a bit of imposter syndrome because this was a big project and it really tested my design knowledge. But it didn’t take long before I found my groove! Working on this project has taught me the power of collaboration and effective communication. Receiving recognition for my design boosted my confidence and validated my ability to understand client needs and tackle design challenges effectively.
If I could change one thing, I would incorporate user testing. I wanted to evaluate whether my ideas were effectively communicated to users and ensure the redesigned screens were intuitive and easy to navigate.
key takeaway
Overall, I’ve learned the importance of continuous learning—staying up to date and constantly refining my design skills. This project has been truly inspiring, and I’m motivated to push my creative boundaries and deliver outstanding user experiences in future projects.