Boosting the submission rate from 3% to 28% of Genies artist community “Workshop”
Genies, UIUX Designer Winter 2023
Overview
Problem
External artists faced difficulty onboarding and submitting works on the Genies Workshop Website, with a low submission rate of just 3% due to unclear instructions and a complex process
Outcomes
Increased submissions from 3% to 28%
Released 10+ artist collaborations in 30 days
Reduced approval time by 45%
Approach
In the Workshop cross-functional team, I led the user research by conducting in-depth user interviews to identify key pain points and informed 3 actionable design goals to address user needs.
Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Artists, Marketing and Developers to revamp Workshop Website and introduce Workshop Portal. Additionally, I standardized 10+ Workshop design components to streamline future design collaboration and ensure consistency across projects.
How it works
Genies Workshop, 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 prompts and start creating their ugc content then send it back to genies team to get the fashion found and work exposure from genies ecosystem.
Discover & Create
Current web layout negatively impacts legibility
Submit & Review
Current PDP only supports LOL and WildRift
Approval & Prize
Player expected the in game content before they make the purchase
Research
Company Insight
In Fall 2023, Genies recognized that their artist users were having trouble discovering prompt and navigating to the UGC Creation Process in Workshop Q3 report. The Final UGC Content submission rate is only 3% and user retention rate is much lower than the expectation. So in this case, product team initiated the project to revamp Workshop Platform to boost the UCG Content submission.
Our artists are blocked by the clueless and redundant workshop process.
How might we create an efficient and seamless Workshop experience to boost the submission rate?
User Research
During the Research, I conducted 10 user interviews with external artist to hear their thoughts on the Workshop Platform. This is what users said in our interview sessions:
Eva Elle
@evaelle
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.
Guy Mccoy
@mccoy
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.
Kayla Ray
@kayray
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 5 major themes.
Next I synthesized themes into User Insights and came up with How Might We Statement.
Actionable Design Goal
By analyzing the synthesized user pain points, I defined three key design goals, each targeting a distinct phase of the workshop experience to enhance the overall journey and ensure alignment with artists' expectations.
Workshop User Journey
Design Goal 2
Make It Easier For Artists Submitting Works
Workshop Submission Portal
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.
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.
Design Goal 3
Help Artists To Get Feedback Efficiently
Workshop Submission Portal
We discovered that artists 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.
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.
Artists 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.”
Tasting Tasks
Final Deliverables
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.
Transparency Enhancement is the biggest thing I learned in the Workshop. Due to the fast pace development and XFN needed, it’s cost team extra effort to get aligned with design updates. So I initiated a Weekly Update Template in our slack channel that help each team member to Keep everyone informed about each team’s work. Understanding what other teams are working on helps identify synergies, avoid duplication, and encourage cross-functional support.
