msl design

Boosting opportunities with a refresh.

Website Redesign

Specificiations

Overview

msl design is known for high-quality furniture found in homes, and high-tech machinery found in airports. They produced and developed award-winning works that achieve outstanding longevity throughout the world.

I worked alongside Sr. UX designers and CEO in developing a refreshed website, along with a series of products to promote the company and services.
‍

Responsibilities & Tools

User Research, Prototyping, UI Design, Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe Xd

May - December 2015

Conclusion

The Solution

A redesign of the current website was needed to keep the information up to date. Additional assets were made to help with visitor engagement, such as newsletters and social ads that would be shown on partner sites. msl design will also be getting new business cards for networking at conventions to promote new business opportunities.

See ProcessFinal Design
Updating

"The Art of Product Design."

msl designs website was launched in 2007 and has played an important role in keeping visitors informed of who they are and what they have achieved over the years. But as time progressed the website started to age, images and links were no longer working. New visitors or clients visiting the site may think they are no longer active, and this can result in the loss of future opportunities.

‍Additionally, msl doesn't have an effective way to grow their network, when they are solely relying on their website alone.

msl designs Objectives
  • Refresh website to keep users engaged and up to date information on latest events by msl design.
  • Create new ways of networking for msl design.
User Research

Interview Insights

From the responses I gathered from talking to the CEO, it was clear that they were having a hard time keeping their website up to date. They were also looking for different outlets to stay in touch with their visitors and clients. msl has achieved a lot over the years, worked with a lot of big companies in creating furniture and safety equipment at airports. They have also developed an industrial design outreach program to teach students through hands-on experience. It would be great if more people knew about them.

The goal now would be to redesign the website, create a template for news letters, social ads for partners, and business cards for meetings and conventions. By completing these steps, msl will see new opportunities in the future.

User Story

As an industrial designer and educator, I want to share my design experience in safety and functionality, so that I can inspire future design students.

Website Analysis

The website is straightforward and easy to navigate, although I would shift the menu options to the top right instead. I would also remove the container that is framing all the content, which would make the viewing experience much more enjoyable. By having an open space layout, msl can showcase more of its work and not be constrained by the limitations.

Site Map

I created a sitemap in order to get a better idea of how the current layout works. This information will help me in developing a refreshed version of the layout.

User Task Flow

Understanding the users goals when visiting msl's website.

Problem Statement

Martin is a enthusiastic industrial designer and educator who needs a website called msl designs because he wants to showcase his unique approach to designing safe and functional products so that he can inspire future design students.

Ideation

Lo-Fidelity Wireframes

Redesigned msl designs current website to be more open, and shifted elements around for better user flow. I created a set of wireframes and presented it to the CEO and Sr. UX designer for feedback. And through this, we were able to iterate and improve on the design for the final layout.

MSL Design

Final Design

The art of product design.

Prototype RevisionCurrent Homepage
visualize

Hi-Fidelity Wireframes

The refresh is simple and minimal, we wanted our visitors to have a easy time navigating.

Usability Study and Revision

After a few years msl designs website needed another refresh. In order to improve the user experience, we did some usability tests and these were some of the findings.

Study Type: Unmoderated Usability
Study Location: the United States, Remote ( Home )
Participants: 5 participants, each completing the study individually.
Duration: 5-10mins based on prompt

  • Website isn't engaging for first time visitors.
  • The community and about page is too cluttered compared to other pages.
  • There is no way to sign up for news letters for future updates.
  • Photo gallery needs to be reworked as it felt out of place.
  • There's too much text in each section and a lack of balance.

Responsive Design

Mobile versions of website.

Business Cards

Designed and printed business cards for networking at conferences or meetings.

News Letter

A template for msl designs monthly news letter. They can send out emails to keep their visitors/clients informed on what's going on at msl.

Social Posts

Created various ads that would be shown on partner sites to promote msl design.

My thoughts

Reflection

This was a really big project that I got to work on and I got to see it through to the end. The most enjoyable part was talking to the CEO, collaborating with Sr. UX designer, and getting a better scope of the issue. And then breaking it down into chunks and seeing how we could solve it, seeing the steps and how we reached the conclusion was insightful. I got to think further and understand the struggles and to emphasize with the stakeholders, we as a designer are trying to solve an issue. And if we can solve the issue we are making an impact in someone's life. The solution at times doesn't have to be overly complicated and if we examine things from different perspectives we can find a workable solution.

The second refresh on msl designs website was an enjoyable one, I was able to apply my new found knowledge in improving the user experience for new visitors. The focus on the refresh made the navigation easier for visitors, I also took on the challenge and worked on responsive design. The layout is more fluid after the rework and much more enjoyable. Currently the refresh isn't live yet as there are a few things we need to finalize before updating, hopefully it'll be up soon.

TommyChuDesign ©2021LinkedinEmail