SAIF

The client stakeholders were passionate about this project. They knew it was a big milestone for their organization. Through regular face-to-face meetings, we established the project’s priorities and goals. We opened a dialog about branding, style, and voice.

I looked at a variety of websites offering insurance self-checkout. A clear pattern emerged: friendly hero images, an attention-grabbing call to action, and a clear jumping off point to getting the quote. These examples provided inspiration for the visual design.

I went through lots of paper, jotting out possible user flows, layouts, and different versions of an eye-catching landing page. Working on paper allowed me to produce rapid, low-fidelity visuals perfect for collecting feedback and brainstorming.

STYLE: The client wanted to see two, totally different visual styles. I drew on the natural beauty and geographic diversity of Oregon. I crafted a light-colored, sandy UI inspired by Oregon’s dry eastern half. I then crafted a lush green and blue UI based of Oregon’s Pacific coast — this is the style that won.

Our customers would be 100% Oregon business-owners. That included small mom and pop stores, all the way up to warehouses full of people. Capturing the personality and “feel” of Oregon would be an important piece of the design work.

Before I handed off the project, I organized my artboards into into a flowchart and added annotation to make it clear. I work really hard to make sure developers feel supported and that I haven’t left anything out.

WHAT I LEARNED: This project was a really important career experience for me. I enjoyed the pre-defined 10 week scope of the project. It encouraged all of us to work quickly and make efficient decisions. Even though workers’ compensation can be a complicated topic, I believe we designed a website that is friendly and easy to use. One year after I finished my part of the contract, the client shipped my designs as-is without changes, affirming to me that we hit the nail on the head.