WHCC Designer
Building user confidence and saving time with a versatile designer
React multi-brand web app for whcc and its partners used by hundreds of thousands of users that continues to scale
Visit WHCC DesignerAdoption of the Designer has continued to grow year over year. The success of this tool from the beginning set off the plan for creating more apps just like this one and saved the card product line from being discontinued.
WHCC Designer
WHCC endeavored to create a new era of design and ordering tools for photo products. The purpose of creating this new Designer was to supply creatives in the Photography industry with professional designs and simple customization to enable them to stay focused on their expertise of taking photos while still receiving the beautiful products their clients expect and are proud to share. This allowed clients to free up countless hours that they would have otherwise spent in Photoshop and clunky ordering software with little return. It also provided the opportunity for Photographers to share the design process with their clients and save even more time. We knew we could achieve this by combining professional designs with quality printing and easy to use software in the browser.
My Role
- Product Designer
- Design System
- Research
- Frontend Developer
Platforms
- Desktop Web
- Mobile Web
Devices
- Desktop
- Mobile
Tech
- Figma
- Cursor AI
- Styled Components
- React
- Github
- Typescript
- Storybook
- Chromatic
- Zeroheight
- Pixate
- Origami Studio
- Framer
- InVision
Timeline
- 2016–Present
- Live
Target Audience
- Photographers
- Designers
- Photographer Clients
Problem Identification
Ordering products was previously done through a clunky java desktop app from the early 2000s. This tool was limiting to our business and also to our clients. It was also a third party tool which made it hard to differentiate ourselves from competitors. To solve these problems, we needed to build an easy to use tool on modern web technologies that can be expanded to support multiple partner and internal brands, endless product variations, and always produce quality design results for clients who likely are not designers themselves.
Our business relied on a clunky Java desktop app from the early 2000s
Third party tool was limiting to our business and our clients
Designs had to be made manually in Photoshop
Third party tool made it hard to differentiate from competitors
Could not support multiple partner and internal brands
Clients who are not designers need quality design results
Needed a user manual and support to order products
Ordering was time consuming and frustrating
Proofing products with clients was manual and time consuming
Strategic Direction
Integrate custom card, album, and wall layout design with ordering in a theme-able tool that can be plugged into our own and our partner websites. The solution had to work for everyone from consumers to professionals and provide trusted design and printing outcomes every time.
Methodologies
Research Driven
I conducted many forms of user research to discover personas, understand comptetition, and identify user needs and pain points in order to create solutions that meet their needs.
Continuous Iteration
I iterated on the design based on user feedback and metrics to improve the tool. Proposing new features and solutions.
Collaborative Design
I fostered cross-team collaboration to build the best possible product for users.
Design for Outcomes
I design for metrics that matter to the business: conversion rates, AOV, retention, and long-term product sustainability.
Process Oriented
My design process includes research, ideation, prototyping, system building,testing, iteration, release, and scaling.
Design System First
I created the first design system in the company which was used to create consistent designs and experiences.
The Designer
Interaction Design
Built-in Design Features
The designer can be trusted to generate beautiful designs every time.
- Professional design templates easy to customize
- Smart handles to resize layouts
- Balances starter layouts with easy customization
Design System
Theming & Branding
The Designer can be branded for multiple brands and partners.
- Support for multiple brands and partners
- Custom brand can dynamically be passed in to the designer for white labeling
The Shipped Product
The Designer is a versatile tool that can be used to design and order a variety of products.
A Huge Success
Customers praised the tool for its ease of use, big time savings, and quick learning curve — many calling it a life changer and deciding to offer products again that were previously not worth their effort. Tradeshow conversations echoed this: when asked why they choose us over other labs, customers pointed to our software — with the designer as the key differentiator.