Understanding the Target Audience

highest human development index among the Arab countries and the highest per capita income in the world. According to the latest statistics, the population of Qatar is around 2.6 million, of which 300,000 are citizens and 2.3 million are expatriates who have migrated to the country due to high income and favorable economic conditions for work. Due to the widespread presence of migrant workers, the Qatari market and the countries in the Persian Gulf region as a whole have a special attraction for the online sales of consumer goods.

Design for the audience within the framework of budgeting

Considering that this was the first time we designed a product for this group of audience; We needed to get to know their needs and the online business environment in Qatar before starting work. Therefore, before anything; All requirements were carefully identified by competitive analysis and benchmarks. In the following, with special attention to business goals and in order to provide a suitable identity, we designed a quality and efficient product within the budget and project schedule.

Collaboration with youx

1Sell has partnered with youx studio to offer a digital product in the e-commerce sector that meets the daily needs of this group of consumers. With the help of youx, the product was designed and developed to be user-friendly, affordable, and easy to use. The product was also designed to meet the needs and preferences of the target audience in terms of language and cultural aspects.

Conclusion

The case study highlights the importance of understanding the target audience and conducting a competitive analysis before launching a digital product. The collaboration between 1sell and youx studio has resulted in a successful digital product that has met the needs of the international audience in Qatar. 

Design a Simple User Experience for Simple Ideas

Phonepay is a micropayment startup that offers a way to make one of our day-to-day tasks, paying taxi fare, easier. The mobile application plays a key role in the process that Phonepay has considered for its users. A simple and practical application that can be easily used by everyone from any age and level of knowledge. When we were designing the user experience of the Phonepay application, there were competitors for this service in the market. We managed to master the field of payment and the concept of e-wallet by competitive analysis and review of foreign benchmarks. A concept that brought us closer to a pleasant, simple payment. Research and experiments on different groups of users across different ages and personality types led to a very simple two-step method. In this method, the user scans the QR Code installed in the taxi by the application; after displaying the fare, it is paid by one tap.

Where Design Make Changes

By knowing the users and fully understanding their needs, we managed to design a product that provides a simple and enjoyable experience of an e-wallet. At first glance, you can easily understand what the Phonepay app does and how it works. Apart from the first positive influence on users, the simplicity of designing the user experience of all parts, made users connect with the application very quickly and feel good about it. However, the products offered by competitors, despite offering the same features as the same product, could not create a simple and enjoyable experience for users and have a positive impact on them, and they were not very successful in attracting and retaining the users.

Application User Interface Design

Designing a simple user experience is essential for services that relate to ordinary users; however, without designing a beautiful and eye-catching user interface, it is not possible to convey a pleasant feeling of the product to the user. Apart from being simple and avoiding unnecessary features that confuse the user the most, the user interface of the Phonepay application uses minimal gestures, colors, and graphic items to properly interact with users.

Does Simplicity Always Work?

After offering this service to the market and receiving feedback from real users, Phonepay decided to expand its idea and offer payment in restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and so on. Although there are many alternative payment methods in these places, from cash payments to bank card payments etc., Phonepay intends to seize a share of this market by its usual approach, which is to simplify the payment process. In the next step, Phonepay added micropayment activities such as charging sim card, donating to charities, paying bills, and… to the services of this application. We can now consider Phonepay as a virtual wallet that provides payment services to its users by just one click.

Digital Product Design

Football World Cup days are one of the most special events in the human’s lives. The days when football fever can be seen everywhere. From cafes and restaurants to parks and cinemas, everyone plays football! Wherever you go, there are either excited people watching football on TV or arguing about football. This excitement, however, is not just for football fans. Thousands of brands from all over the world are trying to use this space to achieve their goals in a breathtaking competition with their competitors. The whisper brand, which is known to the Iranian people by introducing Croissant, had designed a game for the 2018 World Cup in Russia using images of the players of the Iranian national football team. The youx team was responsible for user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design and programming.

User Interface Design (UI)

In designing the user interface (UI) of the PechPech football game, we tried to create a simple and beautiful design by putting together various elements such as the visual identity of the PechPech brand, the main product of this brand, namely Crosan, as well as the visual elements of the 2018 World Cup in Russia to be consistent with the football excitement. For this reason, most of the processes predicted in the PechPech football game are designed similar to analogous events on the football field to create the needed appealing for this product’s users, according to the specific time situation in which we were.

According to the attractiveness indices of the website for users such as Average Session Duration and the rate of Returning Visitors (Bounce Rate), this service can be considered successful in terms of creating attractiveness for users.

Website Programming

The technical development of this product was done in two parts: game website design and game design on SMS platform (SMS), which work together in an integrated way. Participants in the match go to the PechPech football game website, which is optimized for screens in all dimensions, and go through the game processes via PC, tablet and mobile. The second part, the SMS platform game, which works in an integrated way with the website’s database, is designed for participants who are not Internet users. This group of users can also enjoy participating in this competition by sending game codes.

Confidence in design

We all act more cautiously when it comes to money. Every financial offer that is made us, whether it is investing in an economic project or using a new financial service, we try to evaluate all aspects of the matter and make the best decision. This is why creating a sense of security and safety in financial services is a priority all over the world. In designing the user interface of the Directday website, we created a satisfactory space for users by using white space and blue tonnages. On the other hand, providing the information required by users in a simple way, along with 24-hour support, were important features that help create a sense of confidence in users.

The Main Page User Interface Design

The main page starts with a cinematograph that conceptually shows the work of Directday. The use of cinematograph or “movement” in general in the design of the user interface can create a better initial impression for the user at first glance. Cinematographers, on the other hand, have the ability to convey complex concepts to the user within few seconds.

In the following sections of this page, by addressing the features and performance of this service, as well as answering frequently asked questions, we have tried to leave no ambiguity about how Directday work method and the user can act with full confidence in joining and starting activities in this service.

User Interface Design

Eleven & Sun Holding has launched well-known brands in the food industry. The requirement of this organization was a website that would provide information about the activities of brands and data needed by shareholders and investors. The youx team started the project by creating a standard content structure that provided easy access to the information needed by users.
Designing the user interface of  Eleven & Sun holding website has been with a focus on the tastes of the German users in both English and German languages. Therefore, this website has a modern and simple user interface that has no margins or extras.
In the user interface (UI) programming of this website, a proper display is considered for all screens with different sizes, and this website has a standard display on all screens.

CMS Content Management System

Eleven & Sun follows its activities and programs with high speed. Therefore, the scalability of the website and the ease of use of the content management system (CMS) were of particular importance in this project, and the content management system needed to be designed to meet the future needs of the holding. Hence, we designed the proprietary content management system of Eleven & Sun website, which, while having a simple user experience, provides the manager with different possibilities for developing and creating new pages.

The Old Version of Gaj Publication

Gaj Publication had created a site since 1985 to sell products online and inform about various parts of the organization. After the years and the advances that had taken place in the field of web design, the features of this website was no longer workable to meet the different needs of users. Therefore, Gaj Publication needed a user-friendly website that could improve key performance indices, especially online sales. This was an opportunity for us to apply our expertise in online sales, which was a new segment of the market, students.

New Website Design

Gaj Publication offers a variety of services to users, and all of these features were to be introduced on the new website and available to users. This was one of the major challenges we faced in this project. To solve this problem, according to the information we had about how users use the Gaj website, we designed the first page of the website as an “overview” of Gaj Publication Services, and separate sections were designed for the organization’s core services such as book sales and nationwide exams, which serve users seamlessly together.

Gaj Publication Online Store

Creating a standard shopping experience where the customer can easily place their order can have a significant impact on sales. Apart from Gaj’s simple user experience of the website and application, features such as the ability to download a portion of the book and ranking books based on readers’ feedback, could bring about a significant positive impact on website visits and online sales of Gaj Publication products.
Nowadays, most users surf the cyberspace by mobile phones. Therefore, it was necessary to provide Gaj Publication services on the new platform properly. Gaj Android application was designed to meet this purpose. By using this application, students order the books they need, view test reports, and receive educational applications.

Exams

Users of this section take part in Gaj Publication mock exams every two weeks. The main challenge of this section, apart from the complicated process of correcting exam papers, transcribing and presenting various diagrams, was that students needed information such as budgeting, key questions, counselors’ opinions, and so on for each exam. To save time being spent by students on finding information and having a more enjoyable Gaj experience, we designed the exam section as TimeLine, which recognizes the appropriate information at the right time and displays it to the user. In addition, in this section, it has been made possible to register online for Gaj Publication exams.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

One of the least expensive ways to increase website traffic is implementing search engine optimization (SEO). The Gaj website, which had recently been unveiled with its new user interface, also had great potential to attract new users. Therefore, by developing a realistic and effective strategy that consisted of a combination of content creation and link building techniques, we managed to reach the first page of search results for the keywords.
The following is a comparison of some of Gaj website key performance indicators before and after the SEO project. Gaj SEO project is a good example of implementing the principles of SEO and avoiding quick and temporary solutions. Therefore, now that the project has been running for a long time, the results still remain on the Gaj domain.

Gaj Educational Applications

After entering the market, smartphones quickly attracted the attention of the public, especially students, so that today every student spends several hours a day using it. On the other hand, smartphones have created new possibilities for us to provide students with educational content in an interactive, engaging, and entertaining way. Therefore, by formulating a content strategy, we started producing 15 educational applications that, along with Gaj Publication books, provide educational content with an easy and fast learning approach.

Fanap Holding

Fanap Holding has offered a variety of products and services in various fields such as financial services, smart health, e-commerce, smart transportation. Fanap needed to design a user interface to provide information about its products and services so that different customers could easily access the information they needed. At the same time, regular users of the website should get familiar with Fanap’s activities, and the desired image of the Fanap brand needed to be formed in the mind of the users.

Information Architecture

People seeking Job on Fanap, managers who want to learn about Fanap solutions for their organization, entrepreneurs who want to grow their business, and customers looking for information and support for products are all parts of Fanap’s various users. The differences in the needs and tastes of different groups of users multiplied the importance of user research in this project. To accurately identify Fanap users, we used various techniques such as interviewing Fanap managers and customers, analyzing the behavior of previous website users, and defining Personas, and so on, so that we can create the proper architecture for the website information.

Interactive User Interface Design and Conceptual Colors

Given that the Fanap Holding is a leading organization in the Iranian market, we were asked to create a unique website with creative ideas in user interface design so that the overall approach of the organization is well reflected in the website. The use of color concepts in the design, in addition to beauty, makes it possible to manage the concepts and emotions that need to be created in the user. We chose an indicator color for each of the areas of activity of Fanap Holding according to the nature of the work and the feeling that needed to be created in the user. For example, blue was chosen for financial services. This color is associated with a sense of confidence and safety, which is the most important when it comes to assets.

Content Production and Photography

There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”. This is what we were supposed to do for Fanap. That is, we write in such a way that our grandmother also understands! When it comes to providing professional information in plain language, we need to be as good as an expert. For this reason, we started by reading catalogs and manuals and so on as well as interviewing Fanap experts. Then, by formulating a strategy, we introduced Fanap products and services in a simple language.
There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.”. This is what we were supposed to do for Fanap. That is, we write in such a way that our grandmother also understands! When it comes to providing professional information in plain language, we need to be as good as an expert. For this reason, we started by reading catalogs and manuals and so on as well as interviewing Fanap experts. Then, by formulating a strategy, we introduced Fanap products and services in a simple language.
Photographer: Rambod Rastegar

Different Users, Different Needs

The Kish Free Zone website comprises four sections: news, tourism, organization, and economy; in fact, each of these sections is a separate website with its own special facilities. These sections are put together by designing an integrated user interface, and each website covers the needs of a specific group of users. In addition, an intro page was designed as the main page of the website that provided easy access for all users to each of these four sections.

Integrated User Interface Design

As mentioned above, the Kish website consists of four different sections with different users. The tourism portal meets the needs of Kish Island travelers, and the economic portal covers the information needed for investment and economic activity on the island. The organizational portal has been created in line with the goals of e-government and provides services related to the Kish Free Zone Organization online, and in the news portal section, the necessary facilities for reporting and covering news events on the island have been created. Given the different goals that were defined for these sections, it was necessary to create a unique design language for the user interface of all these sections.

The main idea of designing the user interface was to create an environment in which the space of Kish Island became reminiscent. Therefore, inspired by the ecological elements of Kish Island and using the beautiful colors of this island, we designed the Kish Free Zone website.

Company Identity, Website Identity

The user interface design of the Pezhvak Advertising Agency website has been done with the focus on introducing its activities and also recruiting specialized personnel. Concerning the main page of Pezhvak website, by inspiring and using traditional elements of Iranian culture, such as turquoise color and tiling art, along with modern design, its user interface reflects the identity of Pezhvak work.

Job Opportunities

The Pezhvak website had two main missions: the introduction of Pezhvak  activities and recruitment of experts. That’s why designing the user interface of the “Job Opportunities” page of the website was so important. At the beginning of this page, a moving image has been used that makes the user familiar with Pezhvak’s workplace and tries to convey the concept of joining Pezhvak and starting cooperation. This page tries to create a better user experience for users who are looking for a job by using interactive design. Apart from this, everyone can easily and simply get the information they need and apply to the company.

Photos and Moving Images

The youx team also produced the images for this project. The production team, in coordination with the design team, maintained visual identity integrity by using indigenous spaces and models for photography. Another part of the work of the production team was the idea generation and preparation of conceptual images for various pages such as “about us” and “contact us,” which can be seen below.

AWWWARDS

Pezhvak Advertising Agency website has been designed in both Persian and English languages. The English design version of this website was nominated for the best design in 2017 by the awwwards competition body.