https://paulaverna.com/work-1 daily 1.0 2022-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1611983670181-3G3IPW0FE2IYDRLLZB56/paula_ux-designer.jpg Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1645427843552-XM2B11W86E363RLXRAFB/Pano+-+PA.png Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613082857220-IYYHXUS806W77JGAQNQ8/adams-rp2-web.png Work - Revenue Protection Web App | Duke Energy Revenue Protection (RP2) was an initiative based on a data model to find energy usage anomalies that could be errors in installation, meter failure, or theft. When I was onboarded to lead the UX, this product consisted of only one page with a search input field. Within a 6-month timeframe, I redesigned and restructured the entire application, making it scalable for increased users and their unique roles in the workflow. It went live on time and led to over $30M in cost savings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613088042968-ZJ7I23X7FFXIULC7SUZN/adams-adapt-web.png Work - Enterprise Application (#2 in Tool Suite) | Duke Energy This was the second product in our enterprise platform. I was the lead UX Designer during this product’s development that spanned over two years. Not only did I create a rapid prototype for the RFP that awarded us this work, but I also facilitated multiple design thinking sessions to acquire a baseline of information like empathy maps, process flows, and pain points that helped us create the POC, and MVP versions of this application. Similar to the other product in this tool suite, Adapt was heavily rooted in large amounts of data science, data analytics, and data models. I worked closely with the analytics team as well as the lead developer to create this experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613141479303-938WBAQ8VG206UFL0CC4/adams-rates-app.png Work - Energy Usage & Smart Home App | Duke Energy This was a high-fidelity rapid prototype of an app that would not only help customers understand their energy usage but also find smart home products for energy efficiency as well. I partnered with a utility and marketing SME to strategically offer specific content at the top of the app. This application is still under development, and detailed information cannot be disclosed at this time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613082846125-BX0M704388RD5HV0B2D2/adams-forms-app.png Work - Forms App Native Design | Duke Energy The app in the example above is essentially a safety form for internal use, for mobile and web use. The users were in the field most of their day, going from one service area to another quickly, and their phones were usually wrapped in a tough case plus screen protector. Prior to me being on the team, the app opened with all 300+ questions listed, including scrollable text within standard input fields. After some preliminary UX testing with the users, I discovered they had difficulty finding the right questions in the first place. I took all of the questions, sectioned them out to what made sense to users and stakeholders, and then suggested using a form builder tool within the app that would only show the questions that pertained to the safety incident at hand. The example above shows the new screen users see instead of 300+ questions. After deploying, the users found it helpful and used the app 115% more. We also incorporated better ways to view long answer questions that did not involve horizontal scroll in text fields. With creating UI/UX for mobile apps, it was important for me to acknowledge native mobile design. This app was available for iOS and Android mobile devices. I used Apple’s design component library and the Material Design documentation to make sure each was separately built out, and users were seeing UI components they were familiar with on their phones. Users were able to pick up where they left off in the web application. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613088045314-4X2C0E0MXNP209BTKQ3U/adams-data-shop-web.png Work - The Data Shop Web App | Duke Energy I was approached by a Data Analyst to help create a home for all of the data at our company. We brainstormed and flushed out our goals and what we wanted to accomplish in a proposal and received approval to start development. Before we jumped into creating the experience, I facilitated a design thinking session to identify our users and capture user requirements and priorities for this initiative. I took those findings and launched The Data Shop. As the lead UX Designer, my goal was for users to see what data was available, any insights gathered, and explore example data sets in a new, refreshing interface. Our stakeholders wanted the design to feel like “Netlfix for data” so I incorporated imagery with a dark gradient overlay for text. We wanted it to be different from other data initiatives, so we used a yellow (brand approved) color instead of our typical blues or greens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613082858526-DUUSHVMSAIQUH05QI7RR/adams-rates-web.png Work - Customer Profile & Payment | Duke Energy We needed a proof-of-concept for a new and innovative utility payment experience. I used our design system to ensure that the designs looked and felt on brand. The user would need to able to access a profile page, change their payment plan options and even add on smart home devices. This experience is currently in development and project details cannot be disclosed at this time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613082845758-6S6VP67DZJIXDUOKGVOY/adams-apt-microsite.png Work - Microsite | Duke Energy Challenge: How do we create a unique experience to showcase our work and introduce all of our capabilities to internal members of the organization. Our director wanted an application that was simple and felt like a Google site. I used our applications’ colors and purposeful whitespace to create a minimalistic experience for an advanced analytics team. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1613059902048-UYHKC2MGXAMJV7XRFQ1M/adams-morecast-web.png Work - Enterprise Application | Duke Energy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1669676538064-PCX8BNOO0H7ZX56Z78KD/adams-coming-soon.png Work - Integration Strategy | Amazon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1645426573784-QR7K51LDL3KNRBBNYC2J/Benched+-+PA.png Work - App Design I spend a lot of time thinking about complex problems in the enterprise solutions space. To create a space for professional development and creativity, I tasked myself with periodic design challenges. I generated a random prompt and time limit: a personalization experience for an athletic scheduling app, 1-hour https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1645426576862-YALSXAKMJBZ122YG121Z/Cook+-+PA.png Work - App Design I spend a lot of time thinking about complex problems in the enterprise solutions space. To create a space for professional development and creativity, I tasked myself with periodic design challenges. I generated a random prompt and time limit: a confirmation modal for a recipe app, 2-hours https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1644619682279-1G8SDJ6KPSDCYAL8PNXI/adams-portfolio-design.png Work - Web Design I wanted to throw this example in for fun. My husband asked me to design his portfolio so he could implement it himself. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity. I decided on the layout, typography, and color schemes… and this is what we ended up with. I had fun getting to be a little more creative by incorporating animations, styles, and my own photography. Want to see it in real life? Check it out at elijahmadams.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1644619690465-GRKNRPJOJ5E7DV9OPHTC/adams-acres-app.png Work - Acres I had the opportunity to work on this amazing freelance project as the Lead Product Designer. The app is called Acres, and it’s based out of Charlotte, NC currently. It’s an app to help people find and support local black-owned businesses. In regards to my UX process, I conducted a competitive analysis and user research to start. I also created user personas, a few iterations of the user flow, and wireframes before confirming our MVP goals to launch into the app stores. (Now available in the Google Playstore!) While in the UI design stage, my hardest challenge was trying to keep the experience simple while resonating with our users, showcasing who we are as a product, and providing a plethora of starter features. I wanted the design to feel modern, but home-grown. I used simple modern shapes and created all the icons from scratch on my iPad. I felt that having “sketched” icons would make the app more personable and add a touch of edginess to the app. And the colors used are warmer earthy tones, that tie in with the name of the app, Acres. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095138723-RPS4QJ6DG4FE3KGADVOF/Lowes_Live_Design.gif Work - Influential Content Requirements vary from project to product, but sometimes content is allowed to be king and set guidelines for other UX processes and roles. In this example, the content was created early on, prior to wireframing, product selection, and designs. This allowed more room for creativity in curating content and eventually influenced the overall user experience. The content I curated was taken into consideration during both the wireframe process and was also reflected in the final design as well. This specific project selling page had products previously curated due to the in-store component, but I wanted to expand on those pre-selected products in the digital experience by including more content that the user would find valuable, including how-to articles, tips, and videos. In the screens below, the wireframe accurately represents the content ideas I had. This example showcases designs with final content, effectively demonstrating that content was pulled through from inception to final designs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095177223-S0EIRHBL06PCP153VK32/Lowes_Kitchen.gif Work - Creating A Story: Part I From the initial touchpoint to the final impression before leaving the page, the story helps the user down an inspiring and informative path with relatable and useful content. In this example, we have a category page that tells the story about how a brand can genuinely provide solutions. I created thoughtful and intriguing headings throughout the experience, making sure to tie everything together and take the user on a unique journey of home improvement through digital catalog pages. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095138803-37R5N6N0WQS4A17BH5RM/Lowes_SmartHome.gif Work - Creating A Story: Part II One problem we were challenged with was bringing our categories pages to life. I decided on not only utilizing quotes from actual users but also personifying the smart home products to address that challenge directly. The copy invokes relatable feelings with users and encourages trust and simplicity with all the new emerging tech. Trust and simplicity were essential to winning users over on the kitchen category page as well. When it comes down to kitchen renovations, users usually perceived it as a daunting task. However, quotes from users and telling their stories in a digestible format helped simplify that process. This endeavor eventually led to a Best in Retail Kantar Award. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095054525-LBVGFOBYOOC8KYHO3JAG/Lowes_Holiday_Visualizer_Active.png Work - The Holiday Visualizer The Holiday Visualizer started as a typical holiday decoration selling page that you see year after year. I wanted to take advantage of our UX Designer's Photoshop skills and really allow our seasonal decorations come to life. I sketched out the visualizer quickly in a notebook and positioned it as a way to not only customize your décor but also as a way to see it on your home and encourage purchasing the entire set. After getting my rough sketches to the UX Designer, I worked on complimentary copy to help the user experience this new tool. The holiday visualizer is another powerful example of how UX content doesn’t just mean words, but a healthy mix of imagery, words, and any other consumable content by the user. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095109577-V8X9IY1V407JIR9KJNMV/Lowes_Mowers.png Work - The Mower Experience The Mower Experience was an easy solution to a difficult task. In this project, we wanted to present information on how to maintain riding lawn mowers over the fall and winter seasons. The main hurdle was showing information specific to each mower, being that there were over 20 mowers, each with unique parts. Our solution was to create a visual filter to pinpoint the user's mower and have products linked to the mower selection, ultimately showing useful and relevant information to the user. I partnered with a UX Designer to brainstorm ways that we can elevate the shopping experience for riding lawnmowers. Because of the large number of options, we knew that we would have to make it interactive, which was a fairly new selling technique for digital strategy. I worked on making sure the right copy and copy placement would set the users up for success. It had to play well with the designs created by my team members, but also provide enough instruction, encouragement and useful information for the users. https://paulaverna.com/content-design-archived daily 0.75 2021-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095138723-RPS4QJ6DG4FE3KGADVOF/Lowes_Live_Design.gif Content Design - Influential Content Requirements vary from project to product, but sometimes content is allowed to be king and set guidelines for other UX processes and roles. In this example, the content was created early on, prior to wireframing, product selection, and designs. This allowed more room for creativity in curating content and eventually influenced the overall user experience. The content I curated was taken into consideration during both the wireframe process and was also reflected in the final design as well. This specific project selling page had products previously curated due to the in-store component, but I wanted to expand on those pre-selected products in the digital experience by including more content that the user would find valuable, including how-to articles, tips, and videos. In the screens below, the wireframe accurately represents the content ideas I had. This example showcases designs with final content, effectively demonstrating that content was pulled through from inception to final designs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095138723-RPS4QJ6DG4FE3KGADVOF/Lowes_Live_Design.gif Content Design - Influential Content Requirements vary from project to product, but sometimes content is allowed to be king and set guidelines for other UX processes and roles. In this example, the content was created early on, prior to wireframing, product selection, and designs. This allowed more room for creativity in curating content and eventually influenced the overall user experience. The content I curated was taken into consideration during both the wireframe process and was also reflected in the final design as well. This specific project selling page had products previously curated due to the in-store component, but I wanted to expand on those pre-selected products in the digital experience by including more content that the user would find valuable, including how-to articles, tips, and videos. In the screens below, the wireframe accurately represents the content ideas I had. This example showcases designs with final content, effectively demonstrating that content was pulled through from inception to final designs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095177223-S0EIRHBL06PCP153VK32/Lowes_Kitchen.gif Content Design - Creating A Story: Part I From the initial touchpoint to the final impression before leaving the page, the story helps the user down an inspiring and informative path with relatable and useful content. In this example, we have a category page that tells the story about how a brand can genuinely provide solutions. I created thoughtful and intriguing headings throughout the experience, making sure to tie everything together and take the user on a unique journey of home improvement through digital catalog pages. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095138803-37R5N6N0WQS4A17BH5RM/Lowes_SmartHome.gif Content Design - Creating A Story: Part II One problem we were challenged with was bringing our categories pages to life. I decided on not only utilizing quotes from actual users but also personifying the smart home products to address that challenge directly. The copy invokes relatable feelings with users and encourages trust and simplicity with all the new emerging tech. Trust and simplicity were essential to winning users over on the kitchen category page as well. When it comes down to kitchen renovations, users usually perceived it as a daunting task. However, quotes from users and telling their stories in a digestible format helped simplify that process. This endeavor eventually led to a Best in Retail Kantar Award. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095054525-LBVGFOBYOOC8KYHO3JAG/Lowes_Holiday_Visualizer_Active.png Content Design - The Holiday Visualizer The Holiday Visualizer started as a typical holiday decoration selling page that you see year after year. I wanted to take advantage of our UX Designer's Photoshop skills and really allow our seasonal decorations come to life. I sketched out the visualizer quickly in a notebook and positioned it as a way to not only customize your décor but also as a way to see it on your home and encourage purchasing the entire set. After getting my rough sketches to the UX Designer, I worked on complimentary copy to help the user experience this new tool. The holiday visualizer is another powerful example of how UX content doesn’t just mean words, but a healthy mix of imagery, words, and any other consumable content by the user. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/581a65ee414fb5c2f582d0cc/1571095109577-V8X9IY1V407JIR9KJNMV/Lowes_Mowers.png Content Design - The Mower Experience The Mower Experience was an easy solution to a difficult task. In this project, we wanted to present information on how to maintain riding lawn mowers over the fall and winter seasons. The main hurdle was showing information specific to each mower, being that there were over 20 mowers, each with unique parts. Our solution was to create a visual filter to pinpoint the user's mower and have products linked to the mower selection, ultimately showing useful and relevant information to the user. I partnered with a UX Designer to brainstorm ways that we can elevate the shopping experience for riding lawnmowers. Because of the large number of options, we knew that we would have to make it interactive, which was a fairly new selling technique for digital strategy. I worked on making sure the right copy and copy placement would set the users up for success. It had to play well with the designs created by my team members, but also provide enough instruction, encouragement and useful information for the users.