Design for skill + enjoyment

UX • UI • Branding

T.O.A.S.T. is an emerging startup developing a paintball training hardware and software solution. They’ve partnered with Applied Design Corporation, a robotics and software consulting firm, who engaged me to swiftly created high-fidelity mockups for T.O.A.S.T.

My role

  • UX UI Design Lead

  • Ideate, feedback, iterate

  • Hi-Fi mockups

  • Deliver to development

Timeline

  • 1 week project

Team

  • 1 Designer (me)

  • 3 Stakeholders (Applied Design Corp)

Tools used

  • Figma

  • Zoom

The problem?

The market lacks specialized paintball practice tools

The client, T.O.A.S.T., a passionate paintball enthusiast, identified a gap in the market—a lack of user-friendly paintball practice tools with customizable motion and speed features. They aimed to create a hardware/software combination for sale to fellow paintball enthusiasts and paintball centers.

My solution?

User friendly hardware + software tool

A user-friendly paintball practice software solution that offers customizable motion and target settings, speed adjustments, and the capability to save preferred configurations.

My UX Design Process

Understand the project needs

Client approval + mockup ideation

High fidelity designs

FIRST STAGE OF PROJECT

From napkin idea to high fidelity

During the initial onboarding meetings I grasped the project's essence: designing a UXUI for avid paintball enthusiasts on a tablet. The software had to facilitate systematic skill practice, offering various motion and target options, speed adjustments, and the capacity to save preferred settings for future use.

The goal was to create an efficient, user-friendly tool for skill improvement in a very short turn around. Applied Design Corporation, the consulting firm, asked
robotics and development consulting firm

  1. Project scope + drawing examination

When I first started working on this project I was given napkin drawings of what the software would look like for the three main potential customers.

2. Competitor research + brand analysis

To establish a captivating brand identity for T.O.A.S.T., my initial step involved an exploration of the websites of leading paintball companies within the industry. This entailed a thorough examination of their color palettes and the overall visual style of their products. Here are a few noteworthy examples:

3. T.O.A.S.T. brand creation

Upon analysis, it was clear that the paintball industry predominantly favors neutrals alongside bold colors like red or orange. This influenced my examination of T.O.A.S.T.'s logo, which already conformed to industry standards. To enhance their brand's distinctiveness, I subtly diversified the neutral palette while maintaining industry cohesion.

4. Refine UI screens

I created design elements that would work together on tablet and desktop screens. I then applied those elements to the screens to create high fidelity mockups for the client.

SECOND STAGE OF PROJECT

The client loved my designs —

he wanted more

During the initial onboarding meetings I grasped the project's essence: designing a UXUI for avid paintball enthusiasts on a tablet. The software had to facilitate systematic skill practice, offering various motion and target options, speed adjustments, and the capacity to save preferred settings for future use.

The goal was to create an efficient, user-friendly tool for skill improvement in a very short turn around. Applied Design Corporation, the consulting firm, asked
robotics and development consulting firm

  1. Client wanted more designs

Following my successful designs, T.O.A.S.T. extended our collaboration. In a subsequent meeting with Applied Design Corp stakeholders, they emphasized the need for tablet-compatible paintball training software.

I was given the tablet layout and initial target motion options specifically for the paintball range client. I gave my edits to the UX and UI of the tablet layout which can be seen below.

2. Layout exploration

While exploring this layout I decided to adjust the button sizes, sliding scale, and the visibility of favorites. Given the user's ability to modify the setting options during training, it made sense to keep favorites accessible at all times. If it later seems unnecessary, hiding this feature can be easily added.

THIRD STAGE OF PROJECT

Final UXUI tablet designs

I completed the design by making the selections scroll horizontally instead of vertically which enhanced user-friendliness and provided a broader view of the icons.

Additionally, I introduced a training timer, and when a session begins, both the selections and the "Stop Training" button turn orange to indicate activity.

Final thoughts…

Both the client and Applied Design Corporation expressed great satisfaction with my designs. I efficiently produced these high-fidelity mock-ups in just a couple of days, dedicating a total of 8 hours to the project.

Thanks for reading!

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