Freeflow

A User Experience (UX) research project that aimed to develop a more efficient way of managing the administration side of freelancing.

This project was developed as part of my UX Design course through General Assembly.

USER EXPERIENCE (UX) DESIGN | UX RESEARCH

Overview

Designers can have a love/hate relationship with freelancing. Whether full-time or casual, freelancing provides flexibility, control and potentially a great source of primary or secondary income.

But it also involves significant administration such as quoting, time-keeping, invoicing and record keeping, with which most “creatives” do not prioritise.

This brought about the question…“Is there a more efficient way to manage the administration side of freelancing?”…

Overview

Designers can have a love/hate relationship with freelancing. Whether full-time or casual, freelancing provides flexibility, control and potentially a great source of primary or secondary income.

But it also involves significant administration such as quoting, time-keeping, invoicing and record keeping, with which most “creatives” do not prioritise.

This brought about the question…“Is there a more efficient way to manage the administration side of freelancing?”…

The Problem

“Is there a more efficient way to manage the administration side of freelancing?”

The Process

Research

Synthesis

Discovery

Ideation

Prototyping

The Insights

Three main user insights were concluded; workflow, money and lifestyle.

Abby needs a way to streamline her freelance workflow because she wants to maximise the amount of money she makes during the limited amount of time she allocates to freelancing.

The Solution

Abby’s freelance workflow can be streamlined by using the Freeflow plugin, maximising the amount of money she makes freelancing.

Abby can maintain her current workflow process, and work solely within her beloved InDesign because as a software-specific plug-in, Freeflow makes all aspects of the workflow accessible within the one interface.

Research

Market Research

Competitor Research

User Research

Synthesis & Discovery

Affinity Mapping

Research Data

Satisfied with their current workflow process.
“I just haven’t given myself the time to think about how I do what I do, I just do.”

Freelancers are software “snobs”.
“I don’t really like adopting new systems. I like to stick with what I’m comfortable with.”

They do not use project management tools.
“I try to keep my expenses down but I might (pay for software) it if I see genuine return on the investment.”

Time management is a major hurdle.
All users said time management was their biggest hurdle. “I feel that other aspects of my home life often fall by the wayside when I have freelance work”

Use templated documents and transmissions.
“I also of course create templates or base layouts for all my core documents.”

The Persona

Abby, 26 years, single

Full-time Graphic Designer Monday - Friday, and freelances at night and on weekends from her house. Abby enjoys a busy lifestyle and is motivated by having an additional income stream for spending money. She thoroughly enjoys her disposable income and is very aware of current trends - across design, fashion, social, food etc. She likes things that are balanced and aesthetically pleasing, notably Apple products. Abby is a professional creative who likes to apply her graphic design skills across multiple platforms on multiple brands. She is passionate about the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and is more interested in producing creative work than talking to clients and the administration involved in freelancing.

Persona Summary

The key insights are:

A simple and consistent admin/workflow.
Focus more on being creative, less on administration.
Prefers Adobe software.
More revenue with little-to-no expenses.
Does not like to pay for software.
Time to work on freelance is limited.
Works full-time.
Enjoys a busy and full lifestyle away from design.

WORKFLOW // MONEY // LIFESTYLE

The Problem Statement

Abby needs a way to streamline her freelance workflow because she wants to maximise the amount of money she makes during the limited amount of time she allocates to freelancing.

Ideation

Brainstorming

The Solution

A Plugin to Adobe InDesign called FreeFlow.

The Plugin will allow Abby to work solely within InDesign to undertake not only her graphic design work, but also create, manage and produce her administration tasks as well.