Boomtime ‘Fuse2’ Redesign
Objective: A complete overhaul of the administrative website and client-facing applications for this marketing services provider.
My Role
Boomtime is a marketing company with a suite of products for small businesses. My job as Senior User Experience Designer included the design of an android app, email design for multiple projects, as well as branding, ux, visual design, and interaction design for the entire product suite.
Challenges
The existing administrative UI was outdated, containing features that were either unused by customers or had been phased out from the company’s offerings years ago.
Additionally, significant changes to the business model necessitated a completely new approach to the UI design.
Project Goal
At Boomtime, I focused on redesigning Fuse2, the internal admin website for customers. This included creating a new UI and designing complex administrative functions for email campaigns, website plans, designs, reporting, and integrating with WordPress to manage services, hours, and menus.
Project 1: The Fuse 2 Customer Brand Survey
Summary
The customer brand survey was our first effort to create an interface that helped small business owners articulate their brand identity. This process involved a series of questions about their business and a design interview where they selected color palettes, icons, patterns, textures, and photographic styles. Their responses formed a brand brief for our website designers to use as a guideline.
Customer Reactions to the Initial Brand Survey
Customers often misunderstood the purpose of the design choices in the survey, such as colors and photographs, assuming these would appear exactly as selected on their websites. Many, not being web-savvy, were unsure how to respond, leading to incomplete answers.
Enhancing the Process Through Customer Feedback
We refined the selection process to include photographs specific to work categories, rather than a broad, generic range. Additionally, customers now complete the survey with a brand consultant who provides guidance, asks follow-up questions, and clarifies the intent behind each query. This adjustment has improved the completeness of the brand intake process, making it more engaging and less daunting for customers.
Project 2: Fuse 2 Promotions and Email Campaigns
For Customers
Reach, A Customer Acquisition App
A key aspect of our business was assisting clients in acquiring and retaining their own customers. I developed an Android app featuring a customizable interface, settings menu, and a redemption feature for use within their business. This app provided options for immediate promotional offers or customer drawings in exchange for email addresses or phone numbers, facilitating future customer communications.
Email Promotions
Boomtime developed promotional emails with their customers and sent a weekly or monthly promotional email which included promotions from other small businesses in the immediate area. I designed the email template, as well as the reporting email for monthly results.
Project 3: The Admin Tool
For Fuse 2's internal administration, I designed an email creation and scheduling tool. This tool supported various types of email campaigns, including date-driven and serial campaigns. The image displays a date-driven email campaign view, along with the individual email creation form and a dashboard that presents campaign data.
Challenges
Design and development collaborated closely with marketing consultants and salespeople to create this process. Since there was no established process for this business model and we were learning from our customers as we progressed, we frequently encountered design and development churn. Conducting dedicated customer research would have helped clarify and better understand customer needs.
Success (Finally!)
The mockups displayed here are the result of numerous iterations. Over time, as we gained a deeper understanding of customer wants and needs, the working model and designs gradually took shape.
Other design for Boomtime
Print & Tradeshow Materials, Billboards, Client Facing Website, Email Design, Marketing Landing Page Design
“The role of the designer is that of a good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.”
– Charles Eames