POWERSCRIPT SEARCH
Done at Richardson Sports. I designed a custom search function that enabled our department to search for previous orders more efficiently.
Background:
Processing New Orders
Processing New Orders
Searching for pre-existing artwork is an extremely important role when it comes to processing new orders. If a customer has already existing artwork done by us on our system, it makes the most sense to reference it rather than re-do the whole process.
Adapting logos to fit embroidery standards is a tedious process done by graphic designers. After a logo has been digitally adapted, it still needs to be converted into a stitch file by digitizers which also takes a lot of time.
This is all just to explain, yes, of course it makes the most sense to pull previous files if the art is exactly the same instead of re-doing the process.
Searching for pre-existing artwork is an extremely important role when it comes to processing new orders. If a customer has already existing artwork done by us on our system, it makes the most sense to reference it rather than re-do the whole process.
Adapting logos to fit embroidery standards is a tedious process done by graphic designers. After a logo has been digitally adapted, it still needs to be converted into a stitch file by digitizers which also takes a lot of time.
This is all just to explain, yes, of course it makes the most sense to pull previous files if the art is exactly the same instead of re-doing the process.
Timeline:
3 Days
3 Days
Roles:
UX Designer
UX Designer
The Problem:
The Problem:
Locating Artwork
Locating Artwork
The software to process orders is outdated and not designed for quick and easy searching. The large-scale company has a long history of past orders, making it increasingly difficult to sift through old orders to find 'the right one'.
Hundreds of repeated logos are processed each week. Locating recognized past logos takes up more time than it should due to users having limited search capabilities.
The software to process orders is outdated and not designed for quick and easy searching. The large-scale company has a long history of past orders, making it increasingly difficult to sift through old orders to find 'the right one'.
Hundreds of repeated logos are processed each week. Locating recognized past logos takes up more time than it should due to users having limited search capabilities.
Current Process (In a Nutshell) 🥜✨
Current Process (In a Nutshell) 🥜✨
The Solution:
The Solution:
Improved Searchability using Powerscript
Improved Searchability using Powerscript
Frustrated with this process, we decided we could take orders from our internal system where orders are processed and have it adapted into a more efficient version. Our Adobe Illustrator extension, Powerscript, would be the perfect place to house this new search system.
Frustrated with this process, we decided we could take orders from our internal system where orders are processed and have it adapted into a more efficient version. Our Adobe Illustrator extension, Powerscript, would be the perfect place to house this new search system.
“PowerScript was born from a need to remove the manual processing of files for printing, While Illustrator have a rich set of tools , we often found ourselves performing the same manual steps for each file we worked on, this was a boring manual process, prone to errors and mistakes.”
“PowerScript was born from a need to remove the manual processing of files for printing, While Illustrator have a rich set of tools , we often found ourselves performing the same manual steps for each file we worked on, this was a boring manual process, prone to errors and mistakes.”
-Glenn Wilton, Web Developer & Creator
-Glenn Wilton, Web Developer & Creator
Before I joined Richardson Sports, Powerscript had already been a part of the design department for about a year. It was developed with functions meant specifically to help with production design.
I was asked to use my background in User Experience to create something we could all use to improve the flow of searching. Filtering massive returns of search results would provide an ease that was not previously capable.
Before I joined Richardson Sports, Powerscript had already been a part of the design department for about a year. It was developed with functions meant specifically to help with production design.
I was asked to use my background in User Experience to create something we could all use to improve the flow of searching. Filtering massive returns of search results would provide an ease that was not previously capable.
Ideation
Ideation
We wanted to create something that was simple, efficient, and didn’t stray away from the UX of tools we already used. Due to time constraints no ‘official' user interviews were conducted. Instead I asked users what they valued most when it comes to searching and filling out a survey. By finding out more about user goals and what they felt was missing, I was able to sketch possible solutions.
We wanted to create something that was simple, efficient, and didn’t stray away from the UX of tools we already used. Due to time constraints no ‘official' user interviews were conducted. Instead I asked users what they valued most when it comes to searching and filling out a survey. By finding out more about user goals and what they felt was missing, I was able to sketch possible solutions.
First Iteration
First Iteration
Components were pre-made before starting this project so, in lieu of greyscale wireframes I was able to make mid-fidelity mockups.
I was given helpful feedback from the Senior Designer advising me on this project. Main feedback points included:
Considering placement of buttons & ease of use.
Re-working the filter options.
Considering how the product will function & be coded by our developer (Having a decent understanding of coding was an important piece for designing due to the complexities of our internal system).
Components were pre-made before starting this project so, in lieu of greyscale wireframes I was able to make mid-fidelity mockups.
I was given helpful feedback from the Senior Designer advising me on this project. Main feedback points included:
Considering placement of buttons & ease of use.
Re-working the filter options.
Considering how the product will function & be coded by our developer (Having a decent understanding of coding was an important piece for designing due to the complexities of our internal system).
Final Product:
Final Product:
Presenting & Results!
Presenting & Results!
After refining the design of our Powerscript Search, I presented this to the developer of the program. Thanks to a background knowledge in coding & computer communication, I was able to determine what was within our limitations. The developer and the heads of the design team were pleased with what was created and we were all excited to see how it would be able to help our team.
After refining the design of our Powerscript Search, I presented this to the developer of the program. Thanks to a background knowledge in coding & computer communication, I was able to determine what was within our limitations. The developer and the heads of the design team were pleased with what was created and we were all excited to see how it would be able to help our team.
Takeaways / Results:
Takeaways / Results:
It has been about a year since first releasing Powerscript with the addition of search capabilities. I have proposed official user testing but other work has been requested as a priority. However, I have been able to talk to colleagues about their experiences using it and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Employees are consistently able to find the artwork they are searching for in under 5 minutes, before it could take upwards of 10-15 minutes.
This has significantly improved my manager’s workflow, who would previously spend hours searching every day when assigning orders to employees. Now, she is swiftly able to locate and assign orders which has made substantial changes to her workload. She is also confident our new search system is intuitive enough that employees can locate more 'difficult' orders without her assistance.
My personal experience using the tool is similar to others, I have noticed it cuts time by more than half to search for previous orders. I believe with proper user testing I will be able to improve it even further, but for now I am pleased with how it's helped my team out in our department!
Our department also has recently received numerous compliments on our efficiency in completing orders, and I’m confident this tool has played a key role in this. I am excited to further develop the UX of Powerscript to help my collagues!
It has been about a year since first releasing Powerscript with the addition of search capabilities. I have proposed official user testing but other work has been requested as a priority. However, I have been able to talk to colleagues about their experiences using it and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Employees are consistently able to find the artwork they are searching for in under 5 minutes, before it could take upwards of 10-15 minutes.
This has significantly improved my manager’s workflow, who would previously spend hours searching every day when assigning orders to employees. Now, she is swiftly able to locate and assign orders which has made substantial changes to her workload. She is also confident our new search system is intuitive enough that employees can locate more 'difficult' orders without her assistance.
My personal experience using the tool is similar to others, I have noticed it cuts time by more than half to search for previous orders. I believe with proper user testing I will be able to improve it even further, but for now I am pleased with how it's helped my team out in our department!
Our department also has recently received numerous compliments on our efficiency in completing orders, and I’m confident this tool has played a key role in this. I am excited to further develop the UX of Powerscript to help my collagues!