Pixel Platform 1.0
Product Design – SaaS Platform
Introduction
Expediting virtual event creation for event organizers with a brand new SaaS platform.
A One-Stop Solution
For the first year after Pixel Canvas’ pivot to become a virtual event company, we developed 10+ virtual events for different major corporations, each one engaging, well-crafted, yet costly for us and the clients. Knowing that clients always requested the same digital event features like chats, livestream, and gamification, an idea came to mind: what if we pack our most popular features into a platform that streamlines customizable virtual events?
For this product, I conducted market research and UX research to first gain a deep understanding for targeted users, then I synthesized the findings to assist managers in product strategy planning. I then worked with the rest of the UX team to design an end-to-end experience for Pixel Canvas’ first virtual event SaaS platform.
Emphasize
Current Event Creation Process is Not Sustainable
Event organizers come to Pixel Canvas for engaging digital events because we deliver highly customized events with unique 3D experiences. However, customizing a brand-new build for every client event is not sustainable because we have limited time and resources as an early startup.
How might we build a platform that streamlines event creation, and allows users to customize the branding and features of their events?
Competitive Analysis
With the challenge in mind, we started researching on how our competitors solve the problem of streamlining event creation. Virtual event companies aren’t new to the world, but a number of them quickly matured amidst the pandemic. At the time, we didn’t have the resources to conduct massive market research, so we opted to learn from the successful virtual event companies that came before us, whose products are likely the results of careful research. I analyzed 20+ virtual event platforms to find out what features they equipped to engage the users and compared them to the features we currently have.
Defining Competitors Based on Features
Feature Implementation Rates
Key Takeaway
Most competitors have similar solutions to engage the audience: livestream and video chats. Besides equipping these most common capabilities, we can differentiate from the competition by providing event organizers brand customizations, as well as an affordable 3D event experience.
User Research
Now that we know what should be packaged into the new product, it’s time to find out how our users would like to use it. To work around not having the resources to directly interview potential users, I created personas and journey maps by analyzing clients we worked with in the 10+ past Pixel Canvas events.
Personas
Journey Mapping
Key Takeaway
Event organizers need an all-in-one platform that is easy enough to learn, intuitive to use, and able to be previewed and make changes.
Define
From Findings to Features
With research findings in mind, the UX team mapped out the list of features we want to have on the platform. Overall, this product should be a self-serve tool which enables event organizers to deliver customizable virtual event sites.
​
In an ideal world, I want a lot of features to be on the platform to satisfy all the user needs. The reality is, we are building an MVP to be put into use as soon as possible for the next events. We started by prioritizing the most important features in version 1.0, then we will further expand to build more features in the later versions. As a result, we shaved off features like billing and ticketing that can be dealt with using other sites, as well as other features that are out of scope.
Building an MVP
Here’s the design stages for every feature on the list with repeating some steps for iteration:
user flows → wireframes → design → prototype → handoff.
​
The UX team decided to divide and conquer on designing Platform 1.0. I would take on designing registration pages, and an event dashboard.
Design: Platform Version 1.0
User Registration
User registration pages include the landing page, sign up page, and an onboarding survey.
User Flow
Wireframes
Landing Page Design
Final Design
Landing page implementation
Event Dashboard
Event dashboard is a page for the users to view the high-level information on all the events they've created on our platform.
User Flow
Wireframes
Event Dashboard Design
I followed the Pixel Platform visual design style guide to make the event dashboard mockup. I moved some text and the tag onto the thumbnail image to save space for each event card.
Key Takeaway
Building the first version of a product gave us tremendous design freedom in building a site in dark mode. However, this freedom can also turn into a burden as we accidentally used too many similar dark purples that troubled the developers. We then took some time to minimize the number of colors in the platform. This reminded me to always keep the cost of development in mind and try to simplify the designs without sacrificing complexity of the look
Verify
Usability Test
In December 2021, the UX team conducted a comprehensive usability test of the platform with 16 internal users. The test consisted of 13 tasks, each of which tests the usability of a specific feature of the platform. I analyzed the usability test result and found:
Although the rest of the interactions on the event dashboard have yet to be tested, the registration and event dashboard pages I designed for the platform MVP are overall usable, and will remain largely unchanged for the next platform version.
Lessons Learned
1. Value and Trust the Design Process
This was the first product I took part in designing. Being at an early startup feels like we are building a car as it runs at the same time. Oftentimes it seems easier to skip things like user flows and journey mapping to save time. Despite the circumstances, I still value and trust the process. At the end of the day, it’s up to the designers to stand our ground and convince the other teams to do things “the right way” instead of skipping steps and rushing on. The persistence pays off when usability data shows a high level of success for the parts of the platform that were developed through the full design process.
2. Be Resourceful
When there are no abundant resources during product development, I learned to be resourceful with what we had. For example, when we did not have the fundings to survey the potential users, we examined competitors and past company products instead. The replacements aren’t perfect, but it is better than not having any research.
3. My Strengths as a Designer
Working at a small company means that I have to work on things that are usually not required of a designer. I took this as an opportunity to expand my knowledge. I learned that I excel at analyzing research data, learning new softwares and putting them into practice. I grew more confident knowing that I can thrive even when I am working on something that is outside of my comfort zone.