Design-A-Day Planner

A Marketing Site

Project Overview

Challenge

Design a marketing website for a fictional planning software, Design-A-Day Planner. The site should showcase the new mobile version of the software and outline why users should want to choose this product.

Solutions

Research features that competitors offer and discover what features would draw users in
Incorporate screengrabs of the software to help show visualize themselves using it
Showcase both monthly and yearly pricing options so users don't feel "locked in"

Role

UX, UI Designer & Researcher

Time

2 weeks-May 2023

Tools

Miro
Figma

View the Prototype

Executive Summary

In May of 2023, I worked to create a marketing site for a fictional planning and organization software, Design-A-Day Planner. In the scenario, Design-A-Day Planner had just released a mobile-only version to accompany their desktop software. The company wanted a marketing website that highlighted the mobile version to attract more users and to showcase what set them apart from their competitors. I worked to create a marketing site that would meet their needs. Since this was a fictional software, I also worked to prototype a portion of the fictional software so I had assets to show off throughout the site.

My Design Process

Getting Started

Who is the user?

Someone who is looking for a new planning software
Businesses looking for a new team collaboration tool

What problems does our product solve?

Not enough users know about the mobile version
Users can see what sets the software apart from competitors

Is this a user or a business-driven problem?

This is a business-driven problem. The marketing website needs to be enhanced so that users understand what they are buying and why they should want to buy it

How big of a problem or opportunity is this?

This is a big opportunity. The software is already doing well, but the company needs to be able to advertise better and showcase why users should want to use their app so that their company can continue to grow

Research Phase

To begin this product, I completed research that would help me better understand the user's needs and better understand what gaps were in the market that this site could fill. I completed a competitive analysis of other organization software. As I researched competitors, I looked at features and marketing sites for organization and planning software that was for both personal and business use.

While completing my competitive analysis, I also created a survey to be completed by a wide array of users. This survey had respondents of many different ages, backgrounds, and different styles for how they use planners. Gathering information from a wide pool of potential users helped me understand how different types of users would use the site and the best way to meet their needs.

Competitive Analysis

During the research phase of this project, I conducted an analysis of our direct competitors. These were other websites/apps that were similar to Design-A-Day Planner and the marketing sites for their software. Doing this helped me discover what is working and what isn't for other sites in the industry so that I could understand how to market the software in a way that sets it apart from its competitors.

Below is the chart I created to show what features I research and the results from each of four competitors: Hive, ClickUp, Todoist, and Artful Agenda.

User Survey

To gather more information about how users use planning software and their marketing sites, I created a user survey. My survey had 8 questions and received 32 responses.

The 8 questions I asked were:
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Do you use a day planner or organization app? (Select all that apply to you)
If you checked any boxes in the previous question, which apps or planners do you use?
Do you use these tools for personal use or on a team for work?
Do you prefer to pay for subscriptions monthly or yearly?
If using a virtual planner or organization software, would you primarily use it on mobile, desktop, or equally on both?
What features would you be interested in for planning and organizational software? (Check all that apply)
If you answered "Other" to the previous question, what other features would you like to see?
Is there anything you really like or dislike about productivity apps or planners you are currently using or have used in the past?

Survey Results

Through the survey, I was able to discover that a lot of potential users feel they have to use multiple apps to get all the features they need to stay organized. This told me I needed to show all the important features that users they feel they are missing out on on the marketing site.

Potential users also indicated that they want an option to pay monthly or yearly depending on the price, so I knew I had to give them those options with the subscription.

This survey helped me make the marketing site that will give users all the information they need to make an informed decision.
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Discoveries

Users like the option of paying monthly or yearly
Users want the option for reminders or alarms for their notifications
Users want the option to use both mobile and a combo of desktop/mobile for their software
Users want an app that combines all their favorite features so they don't have to use multiple apps

Modeling Phase

After categorizing the data from my user survey, I created a primary persona and a secondary persona. Personas allowed me to recognize the user's needs and goals and will serve as the main characters in my narrative-based user flow. This will also help me to picture what a potential use would look like so I can better create an iterative design that meets user needs.

For this project, I created both a primary and secondary persona. My primary persona, Chelsea, describes a user searching for a planning and productivity software for personal use, while my secondary persona Dean describes a user searching for software for their business to use as a team.

Primary Persona

Secondary Persona

Assets

Throughout this project, I did not feel that I could effectively create a marketing site without showing what the actual software looks like, this also aligns with how competitors show features on their marketing sites. Unfortunately, this software was fictional so to show all the features, I had to prototype part of the software myself. I created mobile, desktop, watch assets, and even a company logo to help users visualize the product.

Conclusion

After examining and researching different key factors of planning and productivity software, we determined that most users want a marketing site that will show them all the features they will be getting so they can choose a subscription that fits their needs. As a designer, I have to be sensitive to users' goals and create a design that helps them achieve those goals.

By completing research before starting my iterative design, I was able to successfully focus my attention on the users as well as the technicalities of the site itself.

View the Prototype

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