— INDUSTRY
Business Services
— TYPE
UX Strategy,
Rapid prototyping
— ROLE
UX Strategist & UI Designer
— DURATION & YEAR
14 weeks, 2025
— TEAM
UX Designers
Business Analysts
Product Owner
Delivery Leads
Dev Engineers
THE CHALLENGE
The Creative Drive Suit is a collection of applications originally developed around 15 years ago, designed to support various stages of executing a brand photoshoot. From planning and booking crew and studios, to coordinating sample transport, uploading raw images, and gathering feedback; each app addresses a specific part of the production workflow.
However, the suite was not built with modern usability standards in mind, and its interface now feels outdated. The product owner requested a comprehensive redesign that would unify all individual applications into a single, cohesive tool with a more intuitive and contemporary user experience.
Some of the key challenges were:
- 1. Each application contains a large number of screens and complex features, which we had to understand through detailed walkthrough sessions.
- 2. Due to time constraints, the stakeholder's didn't want us to conduct usability testing or a heuristic evaluation, and asked us to move directly into concept development for the redesign.
- 3. The stakeholders were uncertain about the ideal starting point or design approach, requiring us to bring clarity and structure to the initial phase of the project.
Step 1: Walkthrough of existing tool
We began our discovery phase by attending walkthrough calls for the existing tool, which is made up of several individual apps. Each session was led by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) who walked us through the processes and features specific to their app.
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Initial challenges
One of the main challenges was that we couldn’t access a live demo environment. Since the tool is still actively used, and due to technical limitations (such as broken button actions and slow page loading), the team was unable to set up a separate instance for us. These issues also reflected some of the key user complaints.
As a result, we relied heavily on our call recordings. We captured screenshots of the pages shown during the walkthroughs, and over time, we accumulated a large set of images. We then organised these screenshots by app to better understand the structure and flow of each tool.
Step 2: Evaluating the Current Apps
Although we did not conduct a formal heuristic evaluation, a quick review of the existing screens revealed several usability issues:
- Inconsistent visual design – including variations in colors, fonts, and element sizing across screens, leading to a fragmented user experience.
- Unclear visual hierarchy – action items lacked prioritization, making it difficult for users to identify key tasks on a page.
- Hidden key actions – important menus and functions were often buried within drill-down interactions, reducing discoverability.
- Insufficient spacing – crowded layouts with minimal padding made the interface feel cluttered and harder to navigate.
- Poor table design practices – many pages did not follow standard table usability guidelines, affecting readability and ease of use.
Step 3:
Understand the User Flow
Due to time constraints, we were unable to develop detailed journey maps. However, we created high-level user flows to understand the primary goals and key tasks performed within each app. Through this process, we identified the main user personas as the Shoot Coordinator, Photographer, and Warehouse Manager.
We created a high-level task flow for each of the four core modules: Plan, Track, View, and Share.
PLAN module
VIEW module
TRACK module
SHARE module
Step 4:
Exploring Navigation Options
As we began combining all the apps into one, we realised the number of menus would require a clear and organized structure. To manage this complexity, we decided on a three-level navigation system. We then explored a few different layout options and weighed their pros and cons to find the most user-friendly solution.
CONCEPTUALISATION
Concept 1
IDEA: We began by exploring a significantly different approach from the existing experience, we focused on simplifying the user journey. Instead of presenting users with a lengthy, complex form, we introduced a step-by-step flow to guide them through the process more intuitively and with less cognitive load.
FEEDBACK:
While stakeholders appreciated the clarity and simplicity of the “Guided flow” user experience, they expressed concerns regarding the potential increase in the number of steps required – something they didn’t want. They also highlighted the complexity involved in tailoring the flow to accommodate variations across different user personas.
Concept 2
Stakeholders also asked us to explore concepts that showed how the design could be personalized for their clients, to see if this might be possible in the future.
At this point, they were still unsure about the final direction. They started leaning towards keeping the overall structure of the existing design, but with a more modern look and feel. This was mainly due to concerns about how much the changes might affect existing users and their familiarity with the current system.
Concept 3
Another concept we developed featured a clean, minimal design that combined our earlier “Guided flow” UX approach with elements that mirrored the existing tool’s screen flow.
During this phase, we were also working to understand which actions were being carried out physically by different personas in parallel with on-screen tasks. To validate our assumptions, we incorporated AI-generated visuals of these physical actions into the user flows and presented them to the stakeholders.
This approach was well received, they confirmed our understanding was accurate and appreciated both the idea and the overall concept.
Concept 4
After a few rounds of feedback and discussion, the stakeholders decided that for this first phase, they would like the new design to follow the existing screen flow, just with a fresher look and minor UX improvements. Here are some of the screens from the updated, final design:
Design System and Components
While we leveraged our existing design system as a foundation, we also created several additional components to ensure consistency and efficiency across all screens. This allowed us to maintain a cohesive visual language while adapting to the specific needs of the new interface.
CREATIVE DRIVE SUITE
Before and After
Key Takeaways
1. The importance of User Research
Due to time and budget constraints, stakeholders opted not to prioritize User Research. However, in hindsight, incorporating research early in the process could have enhanced the quality of the outcomes and potentially reduced the number of design iterations required later
2. Iteration leads to clarity
This project reminded me that iterative testing and refinement are crucial. Early feedback helped us avoid larger issues later in the process.
3. Effective feedback loops improve collaboration
I understood the importance of aligning with stakeholders regularly. Their input helped us stay focused on business priorities while still advocating for user experience.