The Elite and middle class need more just than regular shoes for their feet. They need a combination of style, excellence and attention to detail. This is what Jeff.Shoes as a business is trying to tell its customers. My mission was to help convey how Jeff.Shoes produce and sell quality footwear.
THE OUTCOME
I designed the Jeff.Shoes brand identity from the ground up, capturing the company’s values and unique selling proposition in a new logo and brand style.
THE IMPACT
Since the launch and usage of their new brand identity, sales have increased alongside better brand loyalty. The quality of leads overall is more educated and ready to buy. Jeff.Shoes now have a unique identity and can maintain an emotional connection with prospects and customers
SERVICES
Logo Design
Brand Identity
Brand Strategy
Flyer Design
THE GOAL
Jeff.Shoes is a footwear brand whose main customers are the elite and the middle class. They produce leather shoes and slides. A few months after the official launch, they were making modest sales but the CEO felt there should be more. The long-term goal of Jeff.Shoes is becoming an international brand and they knew they had to take a bold step in the right direction. Jeff.Shoes wanted more brand visibility, customer retention and increased brand awareness.
Well, Jeff.Shoes reached out to me and said they needed a logo. After all, a logo is the face of a brand and distinguishes it from its competitors.
THE GAP
To solve the problem, I sent a client brief. This brief contains questions centred around their description, target audience and core values. After answering the brief and a subsequent conversation, Jeff.Shoes realized they needed not only a logo but a consistent and elegant way of telling their brand story.
But we started with a logo and then built a brand identity moving forward. But first things first.
THE PROCESS
Jeff.Shoes’ client brief was concise and specific.
What is your company’s name? – Jeff.Shoes
What is your company into? – Production of leather shoes and slides
Who is your target audience – Presently, everybody. In the long run to the elite and middle class
What do you want your company to be seen as? – Excellence, a brand that doesn’t compromise value and quality for anything at all, attention to detail and excellence
Do you have any specific colours or icon you have in mind to be used in the logo? – Something super simple and minimal, but will show our business’ main goal which is a high-end leather shoe brand. For colors: brown, orange and blue.
With the above brief, Jeff.Shoes was very clear on what they wanted. But how do we transform this into a classy logo and an overall brand identity that emulates the core values and vision of this ambitious footwear brand?
To better understand the client’s needs, I created a mind map using keywords from the conversation and brief. Then I went straight to work, sketching, brainstorming to design the perfect logo for Jeff.Shoes.
After a few edits, I came up with a logo concept and the reason behind it. The reason and strategy also formed the basis for the entire brand identity of Jeff.Shoes. The client was elated with the logo as it covers the core values and showcases the flagship product (i.e., leather shoes) of the footwear brand. The logo was descriptive yet minimal. Sophisticated yet simple.
The main work was done. It was time to complete the project.
FINAL RESULTS
Here are a few visuals promoting the Jeff.shoes brand identity:
THE GAIN
With a new logo and brand style, Jeff.shoes is able to express some of the characteristics and essence of their brand. They now have a unique identity, and can create and maintain an emotional connection with prospects and customers.
Jeff.shoes is now on a clearer path to becoming an international footwear brand!
Interested in creating your own distinct logo and brand identity?
Businesses constantly seek avenues to sell their products and services online in a seamless and unique shopping experience. This is what Boldin Technologies was trying to solve with their flagship product – Delio. My mission was to help them communicate how Delio can help you sell better and faster online.
THE OUTCOME
I wrote the UX copy for the landing page of the Delio app, capturing its benefits, features and the unique experience the app offers. The UX writing was incorporated into the User Interface (UI) of the product’s landing page.
THE IMPACT
Since the landing page launch, conversion rates have increased, with more users willing to download and actively showcase their products on the app/
SERVICES
UX Writing
Copywriting
ABOUT THE CLIENT – BOLDIN
Boldin Technologies is a team of bold innovators who set out to build a product studio that will cater to the growing needs of software products among startuppers, small and large enterprises. I was approached by one of their co-founders to create and write content for their flagship product’s landing page. They just finished building their e-commerce app, Delio and were excited to launch the platform to the public.
THE GOAL
Following a conversation with the Boldin team, I understood the copy had to be user-centric, stating all the product’s benefits to their audience. I also needed to create the product voice and tone while incorporating UX Writing into the UI of the landing page. The ultimate goal of Delio’s landing page is to ensure its visitors download and successfully use the app.
THE PROCESS
Conversations with the client involved answering questions as defining their business goals (What is the aim of this landing page?) and defining our target audience (who we are writing for?) With this knowledge, I took a creative and analytic approach, ensuring the value proposition was clearly stated.
The components of the landing page were carefully broken with concise and engaging statements in each section. A clear call of action was inserted both at the beginning and the end of the landing page.
For the main headline, I ensured the very first thing the visitors will see is the ultimate benefit of Delio. The words I selected for the main headline was short, informing the visitor what Delio is all about. This was to grab the attention of the visitors, convince them to read to the end, or even download the app right away.
The next aspect I wrote was defining the unique selling proposition of Delio. The question I answered here with the copy was – What makes Delio different and better? Why should you care about Delio? I broke the answers down to their most basic levels. This made it engaging, concise and succinct.
Next up, we followed up with the benefits of the app, providing more details on what Delio offers. This was done with big headlines and supporting points.
Just before the end of the landing page, I wrote the reinforcement statements and a closing argument. These statements bolster the main headline with a final chance to communicate the benefits of using Delio. I did this to back up the main value proposition.
Finally, the call to action. The call to action is an element critical to conversions. I made sure it was compelling, exciting and persuasive.
THE GAIN
Every landing page has its differentiating factors and I was able to create a compelling UX copy solving the client’s needs. The client – Boldin Technologies was thrilled about the end product and still uses the landing page for Delio. You can access it here – www.getdelio.com
(Feel free to download and use the app too)
Interested in hiring me for your writing projects? Let’s get in touch
With the Fast Track Project, my mission was to conduct a UX research study to help interested individuals speed up their learning process and master any skill in less time.
In a world that’s changing rapidly, the ability to learn a new skill as quickly as possible is becoming a necessity. Therefore, you must master the craft of quickly picking up difficult concepts if you want to maintain your value in this economy. If you don’t cultivate this art, you’re likely to fall behind as technology advances.
THE OUTCOME
I conducted the Fast Track project, learning the problems and empathizing with individuals who wanted to improve their personal and professional growth. Decades of learning strategies were also captured from best-selling books and tailored to solve the purpose of this project. I then wrote a book from the UX research study that serves as a complete roadmap to mastering skills the right and rapid way.
THE IMPACT
Since the project’s completion, many user testimonials have been made, praising Fast Track for being simple to use. Readers can combine the love of knowledge and self-improvement while learning mental models to help them to thrive in the new economy.
SERVICES
User Research
Design Thinking
Defining Problems
Ideating Solutions
CONTEXT
Hi, I am Zamai! I created and worked on the Fast Track Project. The goal of this project is to fully conduct a UX research study which shows people how to learn rapidly and acquire skills in less time. I enjoy reading and thought of ways to speed up your learning process and master any skill in less time.
The initial questions that ran through my mind were: Is it possible to pick up skills at a rapid pace? Is there a template that young and ambitious people can easily adapt and learn in a fast and more fun way?
A mentor once said, “There is a hard way and an easy way to learn something. Always try to find out the easy way and save yourself the stress.” This case study expands on what Fast Track is, and the results of the project.
MY ROLE
I am a user researcher for this project. I led all of the interviews, and the end-to-end process and came up with the deliverables. UX research helps to create an optimal product for users. Most importantly, you’ll have the data to back your strategy and design decisions.
Even though this started as a personal project, the information was shared with young people and unsurprisingly, they all faced the same problem. The problem of learning at a slow pace.
TIMELINE OF THE UX RESEARCH STUDY
Overall, the UX research project took a total of five months i.e., 20 weeks. This involves a breakdown of:
Discussing the project: 2 weeks
Recruitment of potential users: 1 week
Studying and taking notes from relevant books: 7 weeks
Survey and interview users: 2 weeks
Deliverables and user-testing before final launch: 8 weeks
RESEARCH STATEMENT AND GOALS
The Fast Track project was to find and create open loops and life hacks to studying and mastering any skill. Learning a skill involves observing and practising this capacity to manipulate a specific set of symbolic information related to that skill. As a UX researcher, I wanted to understand how anyone can learn anything and develop skills rapidly if given the right set of tools and principles.
What were the goals of the UX research project?
Develop a roadmap to mastering skills the right and rapid way.
Compile practical hacks with detailed steps and examples to help speed up your learning process
Create a handbook on mastering new skills in an easier way
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, ANALYSIS, AND SYNTHESIS PROCESS
For this project, I decided on two different methods to fit the timeline and maximize its impact:
Studying selected previous books about skill mastery and optimized learning
Surveying the prospective and final users
In a world where information is the new currency, reading is the best source of continuous learning. Books give you the freedom to roam the expanse of space, time, and history and offer a deeper view of ideas, concepts, emotions, and body of knowledge. This was the basis of using the first method. It is also a form of qualitative user research. Books were selected based on genre, popularity, and relevance to the project and the problem it solves.
These books include:
A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley
Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Limitless by Jim Kwik
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
Sword In The Stone by T.H. White
The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman
The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Ultralearning by Scott H. Young
These books were studied to narrow their lessons, experiences and merge their ideas into a single handbook. To get the most out of this research method, I read to absorb. This was done by summarizing the key findings from the selected books. This process distils the ideas from the book into their essence, their applications, and solutions to the user.
For the second method, the survey was a series of open-ended questions to enable participants to express themselves while sharing their input. Some of these questions include:
Have you acquired any skills or learned something new recently? How did you do it?
Did you have any challenges learning it?
What could have been the solutions to these challenges?
What do you think it’s the best way to learn rapidly?
What do you think are the important things to note if someone wants to learn skills very fast?
If you want to study and enjoy a book that will help you learn and develop skills faster, what should the book contain?
This stage was an important phase in user research because All of my hard work, time, and money will be for nought if I end up making something that nobody wants to use. One of the key reasons why most products fail is because companies did not invest time and money in UX research. They started off with a feature list or an idea but did not take the time to understand the problems users would face when using the product.
RECRUITMENT CRITERIA AND PROCESS
For this study, we started with individuals who were already looking for ways to better themselves.
Some of my recruitment criteria include individuals :
Currently learning a skill or needs to learn a skill for career advancement
Struggling with his or her learning processes
Seeking ways to improve themselves professionally or personally.
Enjoys stories and loves to read
I used the following tools for recruitment:
WhatsApp for direct messaging and calls
Survey monkey (Now Momentive) to create and collate the survey questions and answers
Three user personas were created from the recruitment and survey process. I chose to create personas because I wanted a better understanding of who would benefit from the Fast Track project and why. Well-designed user personas make the UX research process at hand less complex — they guide the ideation processes and help designers to achieve the goal of creating a good UX for the target users. These personas also enable me to avoid biases and assumptions during decision-making, and what should be prioritized first.
These user personas were:
Client Persona 1: The Busy Executive
ABOUT: The busy executive works the typical 9-5 and needs to learn skills for career development. He is looking for storytelling, concise words and how it’s done in a solution that deals with rapid learning.
Client Persona 2: The One-Man Business
ABOUT: The one-man business works remotely either as a freelancer or entrepreneur. He needs to learn skills for smart work and boost his income streams. He is looking for illustrations for technical stuff, and real-life stories for non-technical stuff in a solution that deals with rapid learning. Mental notes and YouTube videos/articles will also be appreciated.
Client Persona 3: The Solo Leveller
ABOUT: The solo leveller loves to read books and learns skills for personal development. She is looking for detailed steps, anecdotes and valid examples with pictures from a solution that deals with rapid learning.
OUTPUT AND DELIVERABLES
The main deliverable – a book was created with the personas at its core. To boost the experience of the users, this book is divided into three sections called “laps”:
The first lap (The Tools) which highlights the fundamentals and tools needed to start mastering any skill.
The second lap (Depth: Deep Work and Deliberate Practice) explains how to break a skill into simple forms and know the true form of practice.
The final lap (Feedback and Progress Report) shows how to stay consistent, get the right feedback and maintain a system that fast tracks anything you want to accomplish.
A cheat sheet was added at the end of each chapter. This cheat sheet consists of a checklist of to-dos when learning your skill and adopting the Fast Track. The book is now live and published on Amazon.
During the course of writing the book, I also continually shared my findings in an email newsletter and in one-on-one conversations with friends while asking for feedback. Furthermore, I created a user journey map which transformed into the outline of the book.
In addition to the deliverables, I presented the book to real-life users from different facets of life including a portfolio manager, a software developer and a communications associate. The book presentations were taken very well, and I felt empowered to use the insights to further iterate on the project before the final launch.
IMPACT OF THE FAST TRACK PROJECT
Since the completion of this project, numerous testimonials from users have been stated, declaring how simple and straightforward the application of the Fast Track book. Readers are able to combine the love of knowledge and self-improvement while learning mental models to help them to thrive in the new economy.
On a larger level, research helped me realize the importance of diligently researching for your users and adopting a design-thinking approach
Finally, the project moved from a personal objective to a more user-centric mindset and the excitement of conducting research with the aim of solving problems for a target audience was fulfilled.
REFLECTIONS, CHALLENGES AND NEXT STEPS
What went well:
People were excited about the results of the research and ready to apply the steps in their own life.
Additional tools like storytelling, diagrams, chapter summaries and checklists were employed in the final deliverables. This makes the project more appealing to visual learners and users with short attention spans.
Constant and iterative feedback and user-testing was done throughout the project. This shows I truly wanted to know how this project can provide a solution to a real problem that the users are having.
In sum, the Fast Track project is usable, equitable, enjoyable and useful.
Challenges:
The research methods took longer than expected. It also took a while to satisfy the needs of the final users. Nonetheless, the users will be put front and centre even if it starts as a personal project
I am now following up on some pain points with ideation and usability testing:
More audio-visual aids will be needed to communicate the results. These include videos and podcasts. This will boost inclusion and accessibility to other users who prefer other modes of learning, apart from reading.
Accountability tools will also be needed to ensure other potential users maximize and enjoy the user experience of the Fast Track project.
I will continue to validate the customer journey map with more interviews and feedback from the final product.
Interested in hiring me for a project? Then contact me right away.