Cargoflip is a B2B company that provides small and medium businesses with access to powerful shipping tools to help them grow. In 2022, I was appointed as the lead product designer to collaborate with their development team and redesign Cargoflip's platform. Through extensive research, designing, and prototyping, I contributed to the creation of an exceptional user experience. As the only designer at a small startup, I gained valuable experience in collaborating with the CTO, CEO, and engineers to ensure that the final product was the best it could be. This experience taught me valuable lessons and was an incredible opportunity.
The Cargoflip platform was deemed outdated and plagued with various user experience issues, making it challenging for new users to navigate. This posed a significant problem as businesses needed a reliable, efficient, and user-friendly platform to manage their customers' shipping needs seamlessly. Therefore, it was imperative to redesign the platform to meet businesses' usability requirements while also being easy to market, ensuring that it fulfilled its purpose effectively.
The primary goal of the project was to improve the platform's usability, making it easy for new and existing users to navigate and manage their shipping needs.
To address the multiple user experience issues, the redesign aimed to create a positive user experience by optimizing the platform's design and interface.
The redesigned platform was expected to be reliable, efficient, and capable of meeting businesses' shipping needs seamlessly.
The redesigned platform was expected to be easy to market and promote to potential users, thereby increasing adoption and usage of the platform.
To ensure that the platform met the specific needs of its users and increase customer satisfaction and retention, customer feedback was integrated into the redesign process.
To ensure that the platform could handle an increase in users and business growth without compromising its reliability, efficiency, and usability, scalability was a key requirement for the redesign.
As part of the redesign project, we conducted a comprehensive market research analysis with the participation of Cargoflip's product manager and CTO to gain insights into their customers, competitors, and target audience. The analysis aimed to understand the expectations and requirements of Cargoflip's target audience, which helped guide the design process. We utilized the data gathered to develop user personas and customer journey maps, enabling us to create a user-centric design that meets the specific needs of Cargoflip's customers
Collaborating with Cargoflip's product manager, we developed user personas that provided a deeper understanding of the company's core target audience and their specific needs. The user personas played a critical role in guiding the decision-making process during the platform redesign. By incorporating user feedback and preferences, we were able to create a platform that meets the needs of its users and is more likely to be adopted by its target audience.
Working closely with Cargoflip's product manager and CTO, we developed customer journey maps for each of the user personas created. This helped us identify pain points experienced by existing users and empathize with their experience. By understanding the customer's perspective, we were able to create a design that addressed and fixed the user journey issues, resulting in a more efficient and user-friendly platform. The customer journey maps were an integral part of the design process, enabling us to create a platform that meets the needs of its users and aligns with Cargoflip's business objectives.
The creation of an information architecture was a crucial step in the platform redesign process. It enabled us to determine what information to include and where to place it, reducing the complexity of the Cargoflip's platform. By removing unnecessary information, we were able to create a more streamlined platform that is easier for users to navigate. The information architecture played a critical role in ensuring that the platform's design is user-centric and meets the needs of its target audience.
Prototype testing was a crucial step in refining the usability and user experience (UX) of the Cargoflip's platform. We used UI prototypes to test the design and gather user feedback, enabling us to refine and improve the platform's usability and UX. Additionally, the prototypes allowed stakeholders to evaluate the design early and identify any potential issues, making it an essential part of the design process. By continuously testing and refining the prototypes, we were able to create a platform that met the needs of its users and aligned with Cargoflip's business objectives.
Customer interviews were a critical aspect of the platform redesign process. Cargoflip's PM and CTO conducted user testing sessions with existing customers to gather feedback on the design changes we were making. This ensured that when the final design was released, it was not a complete shock to the user base. By engaging with customers throughout the process, we were able to address their needs and concerns, resulting in a platform that met the needs of its users. The customer interviews were an essential part of the design process, enabling us to gather valuable insights that informed the final design.
The product needed to have a clear and easy-to-use interface that allowed users to quickly find the information they needed. Navigation had to be logical and consistent across all screens.
Cargoflip's customers often deal with complex data sets and require a product that can present data in a clear and concise way. Data had to be visualized in a way that allowed users to easily understand key metrics and make informed decisions.
The platform needed to be accessible to all users, meaning it had to meet accessibility guidelines. This included providing alternative text for images, ensuring colour contrast met WCAG standards, and providing keyboard navigation options.
Users required a product with strong search functionality that allowed them to quickly find specific information such as a particular order or shipment. This required the search function to be prominent and easy to use.
Cargoflip's customers needed a product that allowed for easy and effective communication with all parties involved in the supply chain. This included messaging tools, chatbots, and other communication features that allowed users to quickly and easily connect with their customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.
Customers needed access to training and support resources to ensure they could effectively use the product. This included onboarding materials, user guides, and chatbots to address any questions or issues that arise. Additionally, users required access to a knowledge base or help centre to quickly find answers to common questions. Finally, there needed to be a feedback mechanism to allow users to provide feedback on the platform and suggest improvements.
Friendly | Tech savvy | Educated
" I want to increase efficiency in my supply chain operations and improve customer satisfaction"
I have a team of shipping coordinators who struggle to find the information they need to fulfil orders. They spend too much time searching for shipment details, leading to missed deadlines and frustrated customers. I needs a platform with intuitive navigation and robust search functionality to help her team work more efficiently.
Active | Foodie | Self taught
" I wants to improve my company's inventory management and reduce costs associated with shipping and handling.
I works with large amounts of data from various sources, making it difficult to make informed decisions in a timely manner.
I need a platform that can visualise data in an easy-to-understand way, allowing me to quickly identify key metrics and trends.
Backpacker | Self Taught | Motivated
“I’m looking for a platform that can help me easily manage and track shipments of the products being marketed.
I find it challenging to coordinate with different teams within my company, such as the logistics team, to ensure timely delivery of the products being marketed.
I also struggle with managing multiple shipments across different carriers and tracking them in one place.
I focused on John as the core persona since he represented the majority of Cargoflip's customers. However, as I progressed through the design process, I realized that solving for John's persona needs also solved the majority of needs for Sarah and Joy personas. This allowed me to create a design that addressed the core needs of Cargoflip's target audience, ensuring a user-friendly and efficient shipping management platform with an intuitive and accessible interface, robust search functionality, and clear data visualization to enable informed decision-making. Additionally, effective communication features and access to training and support resources were prioritized to ensure users could easily connect with their customers and effectively utilize the platform.
After completing the research and discovery phase, below is the redesign I came up with, which was successfully implemented by the amazing developers at Cargoflip. The goal of the design was to cover most, if not all, of the requested user needs. I achieved this by utilizing a minimal UI design that was intuitive and easy to navigate.
The overview page is the first page that users are likely to land on, so my goal with the design was to make it as helpful as possible. I included a glance view of the most important metrics that users needed to see in order to take action or be informed on what is going on with a shipment. This way, users could easily get a snapshot of their shipments and quickly take action as needed.
The shipment management screens are critical as they enable users to manage all their shipments. Since users spend the most time here, my goal was to make it easy to navigate and find relevant information without overwhelming them with unnecessary data. I prioritized the search function and made it prominent, along with filters to make it easier for users to find what they need. To provide users with a quick view of the status of their shipments, I color-coded the status of the shipment. This allowed users to identify important activities in a shipment at a glance, improving efficiency and reducing confusion.
The Document Generation feature on the Cargoflip platform is a critical aspect of the user experience, and it was essential to improve it while maintaining the familiarity of existing users. To achieve this goal, I spent a considerable amount of time simplifying and enhancing its intuitiveness without changing it too dramatically. I added autocomplete features to reduce complexity, allowed users to sync data with their shipment data, and enabled them to save a document as a template for future use. I streamlined the user interface, with the document being the primary focus of the user's interaction, to improve the overall experience.
In designing Cargoflip's inbox feature, my focus was to create a user-friendly interface that would enable users to effectively manage their communication with various stakeholders. My primary goal was to strike a balance between providing functionality and flexibility needed for efficient operations, while at the same time making it easy to use.
To achieve this, I incorporated search and filter features that enable users to quickly locate specific messages or conversations. Additionally, I added a message preview panel that allows users to scan through their messages and prioritize them based on importance and urgency. This feature helps users act on their messages faster and stay on top of their operations.
The task feature in Cargoflip is an essential tool for managing shipment operations, ensuring timely completion of various tasks by the right stakeholders. I focused on redesigning this feature to enable users to easily create and assign tasks to specific team members or stakeholders, while also tracking their progress and status. This allows users to stay on top of their workflow and prioritize important tasks that are overdue or require immediate attention. Overall, my goal was to create a user-friendly and efficient task management system that streamlines shipment operations and enhances productivity.
Cargoflip's shipment tracking feature is a vital component of the platform, allowing users to quickly and easily monitor the status of their shipments and identify any issues or delays. My primary goal in redesigning the tracking screen was to provide users with a clear and intuitive view of key information, such as the shipment's origin and destination, carrier, shipping method, and estimated delivery date. By streamlining the presentation of this data, I aimed to make it easier for users to quickly assess the status of their shipments and take appropriate action as needed. Additionally, we incorporated features such as real-time tracking updates and notifications to ensure that users have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips.
Working in close collaboration with Cargoflip's product manager, CTO, and development team, we successfully implemented a seamless and user-friendly platform redesign that addressed user needs. Through this process, I gained valuable insights as a product designer and learned the following:
Understand your users: Conduct user research, surveys, and other methods to understand your users and their needs. This will help you design a platform UI that is tailored to their preferences.
Focus on usability: Design a UI that is intuitive and easy to use, with clear navigation and well-organized information. User testing can identify areas where the UI can be improved to enhance usability.
Consistency: Ensure the design is consistent across all pages and features, with a cohesive color palette, typography, and visual style. This creates a sense of familiarity and makes it easier for users to navigate the platform.
Embrace simplicity: A simple design is often more effective than a complex design. Focus on the most important information and features to make it easier for users to find what they need and complete their tasks efficiently.
Accessibility: Consider accessibility when designing the UI, such as color contrast, font size, and alt tags for images, to ensure it is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities.
Continuous improvement: A platform UI is never finished. Regularly evaluate and improve the UI based on user feedback, analytics, and changing user needs to ensure it remains relevant and effective over time.
