Project Manager, Producer, Designer @App Boxer

My Tradie

What I learned:

Not every tiny detail of visual design needs to be complete before developing a product. We are free to iterate and perfect it with time. UX and Backend infrastructure are king.

About the Project

The founders of MyTradie, Aaron and Danyel, were committed to bridging the gap between Property Managers and the Tradespeople who keep them in top top shape. MyTradie is a platform that facilitates requesting work, quoting, and payment all in one place. We were invited to an opportunity to help two Founders who were passionate about making sure the process of maintaining a home is easier for everyone involved.

Our focus for the first version of the platform was on validating our ideas for posting, quoting, booking and taking payments for jobs.

For technology projects with a short runway it is essential that communication is seamless at every level. At every stage of the project (branding, wireframing, user interface design, and development) we worked closely with the client to ensure every move was discussed and approved, to ensure our work aligned with their vision for the future of the product.

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From the get-go, our goal was clear, and our number one strategy was speed. The client understood that there were other players in the market so everything needed to be completed double time! Wireframes and UI design were complete within 2-3 weeks and development was underway shortly after. Due to these tight deadlines, I utilised a more agile design approach when working on the product. With each development milestone, I added small design updates (approved by the client) to elevate the product iteratively. Bringing the project from what was essentially coloured wireframes at the beginning of development, to a more fleshed out, premium feeling product, some of these updates include;

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Adding the above transitions to header elements, as some screens scroll.

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Redesigning static buttons in footers to anchor them to the screen and separate them from the content (in earlier versions of the design, some buttons simply floated above the content and would get lost in the busyness).

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Along with these visual updates, I also suggested updates to screen transitions and types (such as changing popups to modals etc) to improve the UX and ensure functions felt more cohesive and connected to the app experience.

This agile approach to the visual design through development allowed the team to produce a beautiful product with short timelines, design and development was managed parallel. What a beautiful sight it was to see it all come together towards the end of the final development milestone.

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The app is now live on Android and IOS, the client has also announced plans to continue working with us to further develop the product with added functions, integrations and updated user experience.