Creating top-notch Data Analytics SaaS
How I redesigned every Knowtrex endeavor from conception to delivery
— MY ROLES
Product design
UX/UI design Copywriting
Brand design
— TEAMS INVOLVED
Product
Development
Sales
Marketing
Strategy
— PERIOD
+2 ½ years
(since Sep. 2021)
— TOOLS
Figma
Miro
Hotjar
ClickUp
Agile
In this case study, you'll dive into over 2 years of work process:
- 1. Deliveries
From planning to polished designs
- 2. Introduction
- A maturing product with no design foundation
- 3. Design Workflow
- Discuss, design, implement, test, iterate
- 4. Tools and Methodologies
- My lean toolbox
- 5. Results
- How design propelled Knowtrex’s growth and made everyone’s lives easier
- 6. Lessons Learned
- A vertical leap that sharpened my Product Design
- 7. Future Endeavors
- Charting the course for implementing accessibility initiatives
1. DELIVERIES
From planning to polished designs
Below is a summarized overview of my work in low resolution, as I'm unable to enter details due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Product framework on Miro – from ideation to improvement
User journey, user flows and product structure on Miro
Example of low-fi wireframe on Miro depicted for early development discussions
Some of the 100+ product interface screens
Design documentation on ClickUp
New brand guide screens
Sales presentation template on PowerPoint
Website screen designs and copy
A maturing product with no design foundation
2. INTRODUCTION
Scenario
From trailblazer to game changer
Knowtrex has transformed the landscape for pricing managers of the tire industry, turning what was once a daunting process of market analysis into an easy weekly review.
To redefine pricing sweet spots of a highly commoditized market, managers manually scanned the internet seeking to understand competitors' behavior, which meant gathering, cleaning and organizing tons of data to get some usable comparison – to then adjust pricing of thousands of products. It was massive manual work with little chance for error, as error in cents could mean large money losses.
Facing this recurring challenge every semester, a manager pictured a perfect scenario: "What if we collect and process tire prices from platforms worldwide and display them in dynamic dashboards where I can analyze from the broadest overview to the littlest detail?"
And so Knowtrex was born. In a few years it gained passionate clients throughout Europe, reached the United States, and attracted new investors.
Problem
Scaling within a pressing timeline
Recognizing growth potential, new investors joined Knowtrex aspiring to offer products beyond the tire market, so a comprehensive technology overhaul began.
What initially looked like a quick interface upgrade unraveled into a complex full redesign. Launch date was closer, so a designer was key to accelerate migration.
That's when I arrived.
Goal
To overhaul everything
At first, my goal was to simplify user experience, design a new interface, document everything, and hand over for development.
But I quickly discovered that Knowtrex have had no designer before me, and communication materials failed miserably to showcase the amazing benefits they offered.
I then shifted my goal to professionalizing everything that has design: product experience, interface, corporate website and sales materials.
3. DESIGN WORKFLOW
Discuss, design, implement, test, iterate
From meticulous planning to iterative phases, the transformation dynamics took place in 4 areas:
1. Product Redesign
- A complete redesign of the user experience and interface through:
- • Conducting discovery meetings with sales and data teams to comprehensively understand the product, selling proposition, users, use cases, and journeys.
- • Collaborating with the Product team to meticulously plan technical and business requirements.
- • Redesigning flows, wireframes, Design System, and data visualization interfaces to optimize the user experience.
- • Delivering meticulously crafted designs and fully functional prototypes to the front-end team for implementation.
2. Product Conception
- Conceiving a user-centered framework for conceiving new products:
- • Strategy Team: investigating user needs and refining business goals
- • Design: weaving user journeys, flows, wireframes, screens, and prototypes
- • Development: stress-testing concepts in the inception phase for rock-solid feasibility
- • Sales Team: pitching to potential clients with precision using spot-on prototypes
3. Improvement process
I crafted a hands-on data-driven framework to improve and grow product in 5 steps:
- 1. Ideation – team generates ideas based on their product expertise, user insights, and feedback from Hotjar.
- 2. Prioritization - product team strategically prioritizes tasks, aligning with business goals, user value, and development efforts
- 3. Design - reimagines the user experience
- 4. Development - implements the vision to real life
- 5. Iteration - collective evaluation of progress ensues across the board
4. Corporate Communication
I structured, conceived and designed a complete set of Marketing materials:
1. Website: sitemap, visual concept, illustrations;
2. Sales presentations: structure, visual concept, illustrations;
3. Copy: compelling content that translates intricate Data Analytics concepts to tangible user benefits.
4. TOOLS & METHODOLOGIES
My lean toolbox
I’ve been pretty flexible with tools over the years, using a bunch of them depending on the project’s size and requirements. For this one, since I was the solo designer in a small team, I kept it simple and used only the essentials.
Miro — discovery, drafts, flows, wireframes & visual documentation
Figma — designs and prototypes
Hotjar — user research
ClickUp — project management & written documentation
Agile & kanban — process methodologies
(Shoutout to the fantastic designers sharing their wisdom on LinkedIn and UX blogs like UX Collective, Smashing Magazine, NNGroup – Huge props to them for the inspiration and guidance throughout my creative journey)
5. RESULTS
How design propelled Knowtrex's growth and made everyone's lives easier
Product Team streamlined internal processes
Slashed production time by stress-testing basic wireframes together with the Marketing and Tech teams early in the brainstorming phase. Fine-tuned screens before the development phase kicked in.
Dev Squad cut development time for new products
Reduced project kickoff timelines through clear and concise visual and written documentation, ensuring a smooth transition into new projects.
Users engaged more and happier with the product
Boosted user engagement with the launch of new features, expressed in excitement during client success meetings, and Hotjar research data.
Sales Team sold new products using detailed prototypes
Pitched fresh product ideas to potential clients with snazzy prototypes crafted from real user cases. Also, persuaded existing clients to level up their product game.
Marketing Team got brand new materials
Unleashed a whole new vibe with spot-on illustrations and copywriting in every campaign for a cohesive brand presence.
6. LESSONS LEARNED
A vertical leap that sharpened my Product Design
Diving into data, tech and cool tools taught me that:
Keeping it simple is hard
Translating complex ideas with tons of business requirements, user needs and tech constraints into user-friendly experiences taught me to always look for simple straightforward solutions.
Devil is in the details
Planning everything in detail uncovered a great deal of problems — and solutions — often in the tiniest ones.
Efficiency is catchy
Watching results and resources simultaneously, kicking off from the MVP, choosing simplicity, crafting lean processes, focusing on one task at a time — these principles from working with efficient software engineers made me significantly more efficient.
Good tools make work better
Using cool tools like Miro, Figma, and ClickUp let me freely shape ideas in an Agile setting, naturally making my work faster and better.
7. NEXT ENDEAVOR
Scaling for accessibility
Ensuring digital products cater to stress cases is crucial. I'm teaming up with Product and front-end to define interface adjustments. This is my upcoming project within Knowtrex.
Next case
A comprehensive product overhaul for growth
How I designed a sleek intuitive experience for supply chain management SaaS Flowls from their deep understanding of user needs.
