CAPTURE YOUR VOICE, LET IT BE HEARD
Redesigning Ense: an audio-only social experience like no other.
Client
Created by one of the creators of Venmo, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Ense is an audio-based social media app that allows users to record and share their personal stories, forging connections and engaging with others through the power of voice.
Overview
Ense was outdated, overcrowded, and had a complex taxonomy that included clouded user flows, contributing to significant usability issues. My redesign made Ense into an app more individuals can sign up for and stay; in essence, it transformed a faulty user experience into something simultaneously seamless and enjoyable.
ROLE
Sole designer responsible for this project. Conducted research, organized data, ideated, and produced wireframes + a high fidelity prototype.
TOOLS
Figma, Getty Images, Google Docs, Illustrator, Noun Project, Zoom
RESEARCH
Collecting feedback from real users is the most important thing any designer can do. I had the opportunity to take Ense's existing platform and place it in the hands of potential users to see how it actually works for them—how they're able to accomplish what they need to do. This data sorting was the jumping-off point, helping me uncover critical nuisances with Ense's design. I found, in organizing, that individuals are mainly hindered by the lack of onboarding and learnability, while also expressing a great deal of dissatisfaction with the app's overall visuals.
Identifying these problem areas allowed me to turn to competitors & find opportunities for inspiration.
Competitor Analysis
Competitor Analysis
INSPIRATION
Starting with MasterClass, the education subscription platform, which uses a benefits-focused onboarding flow and exact, straightforward copy to inspire confidence and build momentum during signup. As individuals interact with Ense for the first time, how they visualize the app, its value, is key.
Secondly, I drew from Instagram's use of logical and concise visual elements such as icons and wayfinding, both of which reduce the learning curve. IG also incorporates hierarchical, friendly UI to add comprehensibility and reduce extraneous cognitive load. My job, as a designer, is to give users a straight path to their goal by clearing out the obstacles beforehand.
IDEATION
IDEATION
I began the ideation process by taking a top-down approach to the redesign's overall structure, concentrating on laying out the new user onboarding. I quickly assembled sketches that encompass Ense's mission, improvements to critical functionalities, and an overall simplification (paring down). Tight time constraints forced me to create and iterate upon high impact screens for early stakeholder sign-off.
STYLE / PROTOTYPING
Obsessing over the logo, typography, and color scheme proved essential in laying the grounds for something lighter, cleaner, cooler, and more graphically cohesive. Full user flows, unique interactions, and animations were prototyped for sharing internally. Below, you'll find a sampling of the overall design.
“Ale's an outstanding designer with impeccable taste. Her designs, used across facets of Ense, will last in perpetuity!”
— Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Founder, Ense