SHUTTERSTOCK NATIVE APPS

Below is a selection of projects I’ve worked on across both Shutterstock’s Contributor and Consumer apps.

PROJECT OVERVIEW (CONSUMER APP)

In 2020, Shutterstock released a series of improvements to the searching and browsing experience for our Consumer app.

UPDATED SEARCH EXPERIENCE

I conducted a series of user interviews in Q4 2019 to understand usability of our existing consumer app and users’ “jobs to be done”. Based on this feedback, we discovered that the app’s main use in users’ workflows was to find and save assets for later purchase. To better support users in this primary “job” and also meet KPIs around user engagement, I updated our search screen UX.

A NEW SEARCH AND FILTER EXPERIENCE

User interviews showed that users had two issues with our search experience.

1. Inability to find our reverse-image-search and save-to-collection features.

2. Confusion over the app having different and fewer filter options from desktop web.

We are currently in the process of rolling out improvements to the search experience that will enable users to search and save more efficiently.

SEARCH BAR IMPROVEMENTS

PROBLEM: Low discoverability of reverse image search (RIS); Observed behavior of users wanting to select the asset type before searching.

SOLUTION: Move RIS trigger into the search bar, where users intuitively look; Move asset type tabs into a dropdown in the search bar.

KEY RESULT: RIS engagement increased by 100% since launch.

ENHANCED FILTERS

PROBLEM: The app had fewer and different filter options than web, driving users off platform.

SOLUTION: Update filters to match web, reorder filters based on usage rates.

UI UPDATE: Filters were updated to match our new design system.

SAVING TO COLLECTIONS

PROBLEM: Users consistently expressed a need for a tool to save assets for later purchase, allowing them to switch devices and purchase on desktop. Our Collections tool offered a solution to this but had low discoverability.

SOLUTION: To improve discovery and engagement (a business KPI), we updated the iconography for improved identification and made it persistent in the search grid for quicker adding while browsing.

KEY RESULT: Engagement with collections increased by 38%, also resulting in a bump in conversions from collections.

MICROINTERACTIONS

PROBLEM: Due to the way in which assets are saved to collections, there is a delay between when a user taps to save and when the collections service returns a successful save or error.

SOLUTION: Various microinteractions were explored in order to show the user that their request was being processed before surfacing the success message.

PROJECT OVERVIEW (CONTRIBUTOR APP)

The existing contributor experience had never had a fully-established strategy. The app’s core functionality could be split between notifications (sales, uploads, etc.) and uploading content (uploading, adding metadata, etc.) In 2020, we conducted research to refocus our strategy around user needs and update the app accordingly.

EXISTING EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH

Both qualitative and quantitative research was conducted to identify and prioritize improvement areas.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

I conducted moderated user interviews with Shutterstock contributors to better understand how they were using the app and what we could do to better support their jobs to be done.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

While contributors occasionally uploaded content through the app, the majority used the app to track sales and approvals/rejections of uploaded content. Although these users used the app multiple times a day to track notifications, they expressed wanting more robust dashboards for tracking earnings and more relevant notifications.

HOME SCREEN EXPERIENCE

Based on research, we redesigned the home screen to better notify users of events they actually wanted to see and make it faster to scan.

In order to provide more relevant content to users, we updated the content strategy to focus specifically on sales and approvals. Additionally, blog and support articles were integrated into the feed to support our amateur-level contributors in how to drive sales and how to correct rejected uploads.

USER TESTING

High level wireframes were tested with Contributors to validate design directions and settle on an overarching page structure.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

User testing showed a preference for a true feed structure to the screen with horizontal carousels as a way to reduce scrolling while still viewing novel notifications. As a result, we proceeded with further design following that direction.

EARNINGS SCREENS

Research showed that the existing earnings experience was not scannable enough and didn’t provide the type of high-level information that users wanted to see. In order to address this, we split earnings into high level infographics and data tables for users to allow users to view earnings by different criteria.

USER TESTING

High level wireframes were tested with Contributors to validate design directions and settle on an overarching page structure.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

User testing showed a preference for a tabbed breakdown to the earnings data since it allowed them to view specific types of data more quickly and without distractions. It also validated the order of the tabs which had been prioritized based on perceived popularity/usage with users.

EARNINGS BY DATE

Although higher-level earnings data was more important to users, the ability to drill down by date still had value. I retooled how we present earnings by date in order to improve scan-ability by presenting monthly earnings as a calendar. By using a calendar UI, users could quickly view details of sales on any given date while still maintaining the context of overall monthly earnings.

NEXT STEPS

New designs were presented to stakeholders and readied for development. User testing with contributors was slated to begin but due to roadmap reprioritization, Contributor work was put on ice.

MORE WORK

HBO Max Consumer App ● HBO Max Internal Tools ● Shutterstock Editor ● Shutterstock API Pricing ● Shutterstock Collections