Due to a non-disclosure agreement, I am prohibited from showing any designs that I created while at Apple.
FileMaker Pro was originally launched in 1985 to design and launch database applications. The software has primarily been designed by engineers for developers. After conducting 3 months of usability testing, it became clear that new users were “dropping off” after their trial subscription was over. Why was this? New users were unclear as to how to create a working application using the product.
Senior UX Designer. Tasked with reimagining FileMaker Pro from the ground up leading research, visuals, prototyping and usability testing.
Make the first experience for new users as easy as possible. Also, make the new designs meet current design standards at Apple.
Concepting was the first step. How can we make FileMaker easier, maybe even fun to use? Can we make a game out of it? Can we cut down on certain steps in the setup process? In the end, we decided that a guided "wizard" experience with predesigned templates for new users to choose from was the best solution. The flow of the wizard was designed into steps that were crucial to setting up an application utilizing templates. Next was the visual aspect of the "wizard". Access to the latest iOS was limited, even within the company. I had to research visual elements, wireframes and interactions from new and existing Apple products to establish guidelines for our team moving forward.
While the new experience was clean, visually appealing and well received, the focus of the team was redirected to a new product to reduce server set up time. I spent six months designing the user experience for FileMaker Cloud which launched in 2016 and has been a tremendous success for the company in terms of revenue and product experience.