Description
Newforma leads the construction industry with project information management software designed for architects, engineers, contractors, and owners.
My Role
Senior UI / UX designer. Part of a team of 5 designers and researchers. I created the design concept for the "Glass and Steel" vision, and my idea was embraced by the product and marketing teams as a future product look and feel.
Background__
After years of success, Newforma’s products were weighed down by design and technical debt. In response, the company launched a renewal strategy, to transition its bundled software model into a modern cloud and mobile services platform. The goal was to create a "Glass and Steel" user experience worthy of Newforma's design-centric customer base.
Challenge
Create a new cloud-based, RESTful API-driven, project information management platform to displace the company’s legacy C#/.NET-based premise product.
Improve existing user experience by unifying all the existing Newforma products into one management system.
Improve existing user experience by unifying all the existing Newforma products into one management system.
What we started with
We started with a product that looked outdated and was not intuitive. Our customers could use this but it required a lot of training.
Research__
We partnered with a design strategist to conduct customer interviews, and learn what pain points customers had with existing products.
We also investigated direct competitors in the market as well as other management software that customers relied on for daily tasks.
We also investigated direct competitors in the market as well as other management software that customers relied on for daily tasks.
Newforama products are used by different user groups each one has its own needs.
For example, the owners need to get real-time project information while the contractors need to be able to share drawings on the fly.
For example, the owners need to get real-time project information while the contractors need to be able to share drawings on the fly.
Discovery
Insights from our discovery work revealed many areas where a new web and mobile platform could make customers’ work lives more comfortable. To improve usability for existing and future customers, we needed to design a more intuitive and streamlined experience for the user.
Ideation__
With a limited time frame, we worked independently and together to create the design of the entire app. As our design stories were stitched together in development, we created an interaction model that mapped design patterns to ensure a consistent experience throughout the mobile app.
Emphasis was placed on ease of use and simplification of the current platform. We needed to design a simple solution but also further reduce that experience into a mobile-first strategy. If it could work simply on mobile, then that simplicity could be translated back to the web.
Exploratory concepts - Glass and Steel
Wireframes
Layout and Design
Newforma Files:
Newforma cloud services are construction-specific alternatives to private cloud storage. Newforma cloud makes sure everyone is working with the most current plans and specifications wherever it’s at the architect's desk, in the conference room, at the job site, in a job trailer, or riding the train home from work.
Action Items
Keep all team members on task with a centralized list of action items. Alert all project team members when action Items are created, updated or completed.
Newforma mail
Newforma's industry-leading construction email management software keeps project email organized and accessible to the team.
Style guide and design system
ILLUSTRATION
