Competitive analysis
Finding the patterns
I compared similar tools that provided subtitling and transcription services such as Waave and Descript to analyse any UI patterns emerging for these types of products. I looked at how pro software handles waveform editors and also reviewed other tools that our users may also be using to create marketing assets for their content such as Canva and simple editors like those on Instagram reels and TikTok for ways that creative software is simplified for non-professional users.
User research
Observing people using the product
Interviews with selected first time users revealed some varied perceptions of what the product did and a few hiccups during the process. The reaction to what the product could do was generally positive but observing people use it gave us insight into some key changes that were needed. Feedback and feature requests were also collected through the website from active users which helped us prioritise upcoming features.
Personas
Getting to know the users and how they're using the product
We collected data during signup on types of audio creators so that we could tailor how we spoke about the product use cases and tools to our main user groups such as podcasters, writers and educators. Analytics also showed that most users interacted with the site on desktop, so while mobile does need optimisation we made the choice to focus on desktop as a priority in the short term with our limited resources.
ONE
Create a base design system
The first step was to create a simple design system to quickly bring the design of the site up to a professional standard. The design system and style guide needed to start with components and styles that the developer/owner could use without needing detailed design input across every element. I knew we could build on this over time with more considered design but this rapid update would get us to a better baseline quickly.
TWO
Improve major experience blockers
I reviewed user feedback and thoughts from my own initial use of the product to see where major blockers were impacting the user journey. Again the initial goal was to get us to a better baseline quickly.
a new journey
Reducing steps in the video creation journey
Analysing the journey to create a video showed there were some stand alone steps that could be consolidated into other sections and a few steps that could cause confusion for users. I reworked this journey to make this faster and more intuitive.
The transcript editor
One of the main features that users had been struggling with was the transcription editor, it wasn’t intuitive to use and lacked some micro features that we needed to add. I redesigned the UI of this tool while Rane improved the technical functionality so we could deliver a better experience for our users.
Homepage
Making a better first impression
After upgrading the product we needed a better way to showcase the features and benefits to potential users on the homepage. I updated the homepage design to our new brand style and refreshed the content, images and copy to highlight how all the tools could help users in their workflow.
Let's work together.
© Kelly Stubbs 2024