A comprehensive rebranding and launch were underway for Instead, an accounting software company. With an existing platform in place, Instead aimed to transform into a new product with a completely revamped appearance and atmosphere. The team prioritized a professional website that would be intuitive for visitors and simple for in-house staff to update and manage.
Getting to know Instead
With an already established online accounting platform, Instead were undertaking an all-encompassing rebrand and relaunch fronted by a brand new website. They wanted a CMS that was powerful enough to handle all their content and collections and intuitive enough for their in-house team to manage.
The Challenges
The challenges faced with the Instead project were to create a website that was sophisticated and displayed genuine enthusiasm for their product without compromising on accessibility and UX. Additionally, Instead would require a powerful but intuitive CMS to make managing their content without a specialized outside agency easy and efficient for staff.
Web strategy
The web strategy for Instead aimed to create a beautiful, clean website that included all the relevant information without being cluttered. Motion was introduced through lottie animations like the one below. The site also had to be easy to navigate and intuitive to access for users. We additionally required a transition to a more agile and flexible platform (Webflow), enabling their internal team to implement changes without relying on an external agency.
Empathy maps
A collaborative empathy mapping session with client-facing team members at Instead would assist us in generating a comprehensive understanding of their users, encompassing their behaviors, pain points, goals, and fears. The outcomes of this empathy mapping session would directly inform the creation of the persona posters.
Persona posters
From information gleaned during the empathy mapping session, we set about creating three-dimensional personas that detailed the targeted users’ frustrations, goals, needs, and behaviors. These personas are then presented in poster format to provide the web development team with a visual reminder of whom they are creating the website for, ensuring that the design and development process are targeted and relevant.
User stories
After a deep dive into user research, our task was to structure the design and content in a manner that enabled users to fulfill their stories elegantly and cohesively. Using insights gathered from user research, we created user stories aimed at facilitating seamless navigation for our personas on the website.
Competitor analysis
Extensive research into competitors was conducted, not only to pinpoint unique selling points for Instead but also to uncover areas ripe for growth and improvement, as well as strategies to enhance the brand's overall presence. This thorough analysis plays a pivotal role in defining the brand's market position and propelling it to stand out amidst the competition's noise.
Website designs
A muted palette with engaging product and conceptual graphics dominate the designs. This allows us to bring in splashes of animation to highlight key features and bring the site to life.
Client-First and best practices
In creating Instead’s web strategy, our foremost priority was to adopt a client-centric approach, placing the user's needs at the forefront of the development process. As a result, our design aimed to guarantee swift and efficient user experiences, with standardized page structures and easy manageability for the Instead team.
Advanced collections and filtering
We broke out of the Webflow limitations on nested collections to create rich lists with advanced searching and filtering capabilities. The Instead team loves the granular control and how easy these are to manage.
Training & hand-off
After finalizing the design and development phase, we reconvened with the Instead team to deliver extensive training and formally hand over the project. Our training sessions are tailored and thorough, ensuring that the client feels confident in managing their new website and maximizing its capabilities.
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A request for proposal (RFP) is a great way for you to quickly get us up to speed on your project. It should include an introduction to your company and the reason for submitting your RFP. Tell us what it is you hope to accomplish with us and lay out any problems you or your users face with your current site. Lastly, please provide an overview of your project scope, timeline, and budget. We're happy to guide you through this on a call.
