iongrid stratos

Seriously secure mobile software.

My Role

I was responsible for all things design at ionGrid. I focused on competitive research and the UX/UI design of our mobile apps and server.

I reported to the founding CEO and CTO and collaborated with our engineering and sales teams.

The Product

ionGrid was founded to solve the problem of employees using unauthorized cloud software. Stratos gave mobile workers a safe and elegant alternative.

Goals

Our plan was simple. Launch our product and offer it to companies with strict data security requirements.

My goal was to design a product that was easy for novices to use but robust enough for power users.

Enterprise software often put user needs last. I wanted to challenge that notion and create an attractive alternative.

Process

We were a lean startup with evolving requirements. I abbreviated long drawn out processes and prioritized actionable results.

On any given day I might be working on:

  • • design research / competitive analysis
  • • UX strategy / conceptualization
  • • prototyping and testing
  • • UI design and production

Sketching

My process starts with loose chicken scratches to capture ideas. Good ideas are iterated with more detail until it is time to move to wireframes.

Shown below are ideas on thumbnail display, metadata layouts, and icons for file status.

Wireframes

The needs of ionGrid were unique. Low fidelity wireframes are usually created to define layout and navigation elements. But, we needed screens with more pizazz to show progress to our investors. The sales team also wanted compelling imagery to woo customers.

The wireframes soon evolved to include color, shading, imagery, and realistic typography.

Screens

Using feedback from the wireframes, I moved forward with high-resolution mockups.

Phone

We created our product for tablets. We speculated that viewing PowerPoint files on a teeny smartphone would be awful.

In my design research, I uncovered a few edge cases where a phone app would be valuable. I sketched out a few designs, but for cost reasons they did not make it to the roadmap.

Personally, I felt a phone app would be inevitable. I worked on the tablet design, but kept the iPhone form factor in mind.

During the pilot, our customers were increasingly vocal about needing a phone app. In response, we altered our roadmap to include a phone app. The initiative was fast-tracked, and it became a top priority for our public launch.

Thanks to my early sketching, there were no UX issues on either the phone design or the iPad. The phone app launched on time.

Workflow

Our product was easy to understand. But under the hood, the system is complex and filled with tricky states and edge cases. I created workflow diagrams to visualize the most complex tasks.

These charts illustrate ideas on latency disguises and server processes.

Et Cetera

I also worked on other design related projects at ionGrid. I oversaw product branding and naming, and a bit of other marketing related design tasks.

impact

Our launch was successful, and our pilot included the largest banks in the world. Government agencies, utility companies and healthcare organizations used our product.

  • Customers some of the largest financial institutions
  • Easy to Use the user experience was praised for its simplicity
  • Clean Design the design was a big selling factor for customers
  • Acquisition we were acquired by NetApp