Powerscript

Task: UX designer

Time: 3 Days

Background: 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. It saves time and effort for all departments involved. It especially saves time for the graphic designers and the digitizers who turn artwork into stitch files for embroidery.

Adapting logos to fit embroidery standards is a tedious process done by graphic designers. After a logo has been digitally adapted it still remains an arduous task to convert artwork into stitch files for physical embroidery. 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.

The problem: Locating artwork

The software to process orders is outdated and not designed for quick and easy search processes. The large-scale company has a long history of past orders, making it increasingly difficult for users to find what they’re looking for. 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 Solution: Improved Searchability using Powerscript

Making the most out of what we had, we decided we could take the source code from the website orders are processed in and have it adapted into a more efficient version within an Adobe Illustrator extension. Powerscripts is a powerful Illustrator extension made to enhance the workflow for designers. 

“PowerScripts 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

Before being a part of the team, Powerscripts 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.

It was a bold idea to implement a database as part of the extension, but with the right UX it could work.

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:

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. By finding out more about user goals and what they felt was missing, I was able to sketch some possible solutions.

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

  • Logistics on how things will function

Final Version: Presenting

After refining the design of our Powerscript Search, I presented this to the developer of the program. Thanks to my background in coding & computer communication, I was able to determine what was within our limitations. The developer and the heads of the design team were satisfied with what was made and we were all excited to see how it would be able to help our team with searching.

Takeaways:

It has been about 8 months since the first release of Powerscript with the additional search capabilities. Although the developer is still working hard to get everything right before updating any new UI or UX, it has made searching for past orders a breeze. Utilizing my design, employees are able to find what they are looking for in just a few minutes. Thumbnail previews and simple yet powerful filter functions create a smooth streamline process.

Once development is done I plan to conduct user interviews to further improve usability. Right now I can confidently say the new search functions have cut search time in half from what it once was. However, I believe there is more room for improvement that can only be found after users have complete access to all features. I am excited to see what’s next in this design journey!