Boosting the submission rate from 3% to 26% of Genies artist community ''Workshop''
Genies, UIUX Designer Winter 2023
Context
Genies is an LA-based startup focused on avatar creation and digital fashion for Gen Z.
Its Workshop platform, built for artists creating digital assets, has partnered with over 40 external creators, 200+ digital assets creations, integrating their works into the Genies ecosystem. Artists can explore the fun prompt we provide and start creating their ugc content then send it back to genies team to get the fashion found and work exposure from genies ecosystem.
As the only designer in the Workshop cross-functional team, I led the redesign of workshop creation experience, collaborated with Product Manager, Artists, Marketing and developers and successful deliver the new Workshop to our artist community.
Result
Increase the submission rate from 3% to 26%
Release 10+ external artists collaborations in a month.
Average asset approval time has been reduced from 2.5 weeks to just 1 week.
Research
Introduction
In Fall 2023, Genies recognized that their artist users were having trouble discovering prompt and navigating to the UGC Creation Process. The Final UGC Content submission rate is only 3% and team is aiming to improve the user engagement. I explored design interventions on various touch-points in the platform with the help of XFN team.
Problem Breakdown
Difficulties from discovery to final UGC content creations, including workshop website and its submission portal, were uncovered by Workshop Q3 report.
I conducted 10 user interviews with external artist to hear their thoughts on the Workshop Platform. This is what they said:
- I really love the prompts; they always motivate me to create something new. But it's hard to understand the preferred style Genies wants, and that makes it confusing.
- I've done several prompts. It was hard to understand at first, but now I'm used to it. The frustrating part is the file upload—I have to wait weeks for email confirmation and feedback, and it’s a long process to figure out what went wrong.
- I’ve had to re-upload my files a few times because the Google Drive link keeps breaking or isn’t accessible. It’s frustrating to deal with.
After gathering 60+ data points. I slowly let the data categorize themselves into 4 major clusters I can reflect in my How Might We's and ideation phase later.
Affinity Map
User Insight
Our artists are blocked by the redundant and cluelessworkshop process.
How Might We
Enhance artists’ UGC journey and boost the submission rate in the workshop?
1
Improving the prompt discover and navigation experience
2
Make it easier for artists to submit their works
3
Helping artists to receive feedback and track their creations
Goals
Design Goal
We started off with a pretty open-ended problem statement. Synthesizing feedback and research us what enhancing UGC journey actually meant.
By improving the prompt discover and navigation experience, make it easier for artists to submit works and helping them to track all the creations. We will enhance the Workshop experience and boost the submission rate.
Design Process
Introduction
Since there’s two product(workshop website and submission portal) involved in the project, we kick off the workshop website first aiming to improve the discover and navigation experience for our artists users, worked with our marketing&product members to improve the information hierarchy and introduce new content to onboard artists. Then moving on, we shift into the portal design, collaborated with our dev members to craft a intuitive portal for users to upload their content efficiently.
Goal 1
Improve Prompt Discover&Navigation
Workshop Website
Creation Support
Provide FAQs, education, guidance support, easy to onboarding the creation process.
Information Architecture Redesign
Using infographic and copies to break down stop by step to educate users about the workshop.
Prompt Redesign
Humans are visual creatures especially ARTISTS. With the interactive prompt we can provide more visual hints, Inspire artists with flavor copy and prioritize key information for better clarity.
Forster Genies Artist Community
Establish more content engagement with artist and share more workshop insight in the community.
Previous Workshop
Upgraded Workshop
Improve Prompt Discover&Navigation
Workshop Website
Ideation
To achieve the first goal of improving prompt discovery and navigation, I collaborated closely with our marketing team to enhance user engagement on the Workshop platform. Insights from previous user interviews revealed that artists prefer learning through visuals rather than text-heavy content.
Based on this finding, we implemented infographics to onboard artists, reducing the risk of overwhelming them with complex information. We also transformed prompts into interactive experiences, incorporating curated visual hints to spark inspiration and creativity. To further support artists, we introduced a dedicated toolkits section, providing resources that alleviate the anxiety of starting from scratch and empowering artists to focus on their creative process
Goal 2
Make It Easier For Artists Submitting Works
Workshop Submission Portal
Easy to start
Without entering the prompt information, artist can direct start with uploading.
Profile Create
Start by giving submission a name and crafting a description to share vision.
Submission Portal Homepage
Create Submission
Submission Window
Step by step
With clear step indications and file guidelines support, artists will upload their creation file in order without a mess.
Make It Easier For Artists Submitting Works
Workshop Submission Portal
Ideation
To address the primary concern of simplifying the submission process for artists, we integrated the previous fragmented workflow into a streamlined, one-stop Workshop portal. Instead of requiring artists to fill out multiple forms and upload their work through platforms like Google Drive, the portal consolidates the entire production process into a single, cohesive experience.
Artists can now easily upload their work by following step-by-step instructions within the portal. They can create a detailed description of their submissions, send files in the required formats directly through the portal, and utilize an integrated checklist to ensure the accuracy and completeness of their uploads. This streamlined solution empowers artists to submit their work anytime, anywhere, with greater efficiency and confidence.
Goal 3
Helping Artists Receive Feedback And Track Creations
Workshop Submission Portal
Submission Portal Homepage
Build Dashboard
Error Report
Stay Updated
Seamlessly navigate to the most recent changes without any hassle
Track and Save Upload History
Provide downloadable file to keep tracking iterations and system can save up to 100 history uploading.
Clear Asset Status
Easily track the progress of your assets with a clear and organized status hierarchy.
Effortless File Feedback Notifications
Receive feedback on your files efficiently and seamlessly, all within one platform.
Helping Artists Receive Feedback And Track Creations
Workshop Submission Portal
Ideation
Learning from users, we discovered that they often struggled to locate feedback or approvals buried in a massive influx of emails. To address this, we introduced the concept of a “kanban” system.
Kanban, originating from lean project management, is a visual workflow management method that organizes tasks into columns or cards, making it easier to track progress and manage information. In our implementation, the kanban system efficiently showcases previous versions of submissions alongside feedback, approvals, and other relevant content. This approach not only streamlines access to key information but also provides users with a clear, visual representation of their submission workflow, reducing confusion and saving time.
Usability Testing
Introduction
To validate our exploration, we invited 10 external artists to usability testing both website and portal. To see whether the new workshop website and portal enhance the artists UGC journey, we asked participants to perform a series of tasks and asked them to give a usability score from 0 to 10.
Usability Testing
Design Goals Validation
10 External Artists
1
Improving the prompt discover and navigation experience
Task
Explore the Workshop Website and choose a prompt to create
KPI
well elaborated the prompt topic and asset requirement
Score
8.9
2
Make it easier for artists to submit their works
Task
Create a build and upload our assigned file to the portal
KPI
The time spend on creating and uploading
Score
9.2
3
Helping artists to receive feedback and track their creations
Task
Check on the creation status and received the revise feedback from Genies team
KPI
whether they could receive the feedback and follow the instruction to upload the updated file
Score
9.5
Design Goals Validation
10 External Artists
Test Results
While we had some heuristics to help guide our decision making, we knew we needed to do testing with actual users to prove our hypotheses.
They said;
-- I really appreciate the toolkits section. Starting from scratch used to be stressful, but now I have resources to spark my creativity and guide me through the process.
- The kanban board is such a relief! I can see all my submissions, feedback, and approvals at a glance without having to search through my inbox.
- The portal has saved me so much time—I don’t have to switch between tools or worry about missing important details anymore. It’s all right here.
Retrospective
Learnings
Working on this project was both exciting and challenging as I navigated a domain that required wearing multiple hats—product, visual design, and close collaboration with artists. As someone new to the Workshop project, I brought fresh, unbiased ideas that helped strengthen the artist community.
I focused on streamlining workflows for both external artists and internal teams. This included cohosting an asset library with the artist team and iterating on our design system to ensure scalability and reusability. Balancing creativity with operational efficiency, this project was a rewarding experience that fostered both personal and professional growth.
Next:
Establish Drewlery E-commerce Shopify Website from 0 to 1
