Sion is a SaaS application aimed at helping travel agents manage and process their commissions effectively. As their lead product and interaction designer, my primary goal was to make Sion simple, smart and user friendly. To achieve this I focused on a few key areas
- Streamlining the design to follow a distinct visual hierarchy and create predictable patterns for user driven actions;
- Re-architect information to be skim-able enabling faster user input; and lastly
- Engineer product features that simplify/automate predictable user tasks.
Alongside the product and interaction design for Sion, I also worked on creating their marketing, branding assets and designed their pitch deck.
Note: I have not shared most of the visual assets to protect Sion's interests.
Redesign Sion to ensure that user driven actions are predictable and intuitive.
Improve the user experience for viewing bookings.
Establish an information hierarchy to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a user action.
Prepare Sion for product launch.
Introduce new product features and re-design existing product offerings to accommodate them.
Sion had about 150 beta testers using it on a daily basis which gave us the opportunity to observe and rapidly iterate on design ideas. We had also implemented Fullstory, a product that records user behavior on our site and lets us observe them. This was immensely helpful in identifying pain-points which we then discussed directly with our users through interviews. We also reached out to our testers repeatedly to get feedback on prototypes before development to identify any flaws beforehand.
User observation analysis
User journey mapping
Market Research
Information Architecture
Customer interviews
Prototype review
As with any SaaS product, Sion was data rich and data driven. This meant we needed to present information to users in a simple interact-able and actionable manner. Our goal with presenting information was to provide just enough information to make the process actionable. For instance if the goal was to make a payment, we would provide all the relevant information necessary to make a payment right there within the modal reducing the need to search elsewhere. This dramatically improved efficiency and the time taken to complete each user activity.
Status of booking was an important factor for how information is prioritized and handled in the travel commissions industry. So status became front and center. It was a visual motif across modals, cards and data visualization.This made it readily recognizable and drew your attention to exactly those that needed it.
Through the course of working at Sion, I had the opportunity to conceptualize multiple product features and ideas. The biggest challenge throughout the process was how we presented the data. As a product that focused on transparency and accuracy, it was of paramount importance that the correct data be presented under the right constraints. It was also very important for us to display this information in a manner that resulted in business insights for our users.
Note: I have not shared any images here to protect the confidential nature of some of this information.
The goal for Sion's brand identity was to reflect its values - simple, intuitive and transparent. I adopted a minimalist aesthetic while crafting illustrations that mimic the interface and transitions within the app for added interest.
I also crafted brand assets and marketing material for Sion's upcoming presence at GBTA Conference.