SmartLab Platform Design
Project Overview
The Challenge
SmartLab is a digital experience platform for events and learning programmes. The purpose of this project was to refresh the dated user experience and functionality of the platform through new designs and simpler processes. To do this, we had to take apart every element of an established platform and review the journey from ideation, to design, to functionality. This involved a complete overhaul of the entire platform, including the admin area, the apps, and the overall aesthetic and functioning of the platform.
The Solution
By identifying the key functionalities and designs that weren't effective, we created a platform that significantly improved the user experience with a modernised appearance. Now, SmartLab has an established and uniform design system that keeps everything consistent. Alongside this, we also created a mobile companion app and an Express version of the platform to broaden the offerings of SmartLab. These designs have since been implemented and are currently being used by clients for an improved experience on the platform.
Platform Refresh
Initially SmartLab was created as a tool for live conferences and meetings to engage audiences. With events shifting to the digital space in 2020, there was a greater demand for new innovative features to be introduced. This meant that new features went straight to development and did not always go through the design team when being created. Due to this, the admin area could only be used by users who had experience with the platform as it became overcrowded and unintuitive.
With large parts of the admin area feeling dated and confusing, we took this opportunity to restructure the platform and update the design so that it was a much easier system to use. Implementing a thorough system core for every state of each element allowed us to carry the redesign to the frontend elements of the platform, including the 12 apps.
SmartLab Express
With the growth of digital events, it was believed that the main SmartLab platform had too many offerings for one-off events. By creating an express version of the platform, we would be able to offer a more streamlined and focused experience for the clients who would design and build their own events.
Working with internal project managers and clients, we were able to deduce which features needed to be created from new or included from the main platform. During this project, I designed over 250 interactive frames on Figma when building the prototypes and user flows to demonstrate the overall journey; including hover states, both admin and user viewpoints and layout variations based on data inputs. These prototypes were used by the clients for testing and by the development team for the build of the new platform.
Companion App
There was an increasing demand for a mobile companion app from clients as many attendees wanted to be able to work from their phone whilst using their laptops to run the conference calls. We also found that with live events returning, being able to use your mobile during the conferences to interact with the activities was far more preferable than other devices.
The development of the mobile companion app coincided well with the redesign of the platform and the development of SmartLab Express. This allowed for a refined design process as the mobile screens were created in tandem with the new designs so that the responsive elements were considered from the beginning.
