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Project
Printer Interface Design
Redesigned the printer interface by improving the ability functionality of the interface
As part of my summer internship capstone project at World Wide Technology, the interns were tasked with developing a solution for managing project files. Our solution focuses on providing a user-friendly system that simplifies file management while improvising the process of locating past project files to match the unmet needs.
Info
Role
UX Designer
Team
2 UX Designers
2 Project Managers
2 Developers
Duration
10 weeks
Overview
Challenge
Using a printer required a supporting device to operate it, and their
Solution
A redesigned interface for a printer that reduces the dependency on other devices to operate and allows the user to edit, print and share documents all in one place.
Inbuilt photo editor
Simplistic touch screen that enables all user functions
Inbuilt photo editor
Simplistic touch screen that enables all user functions
Inbuilt photo editor
Simplistic touch screen that enables all user functions
Intial market research
Process
add visualisation of process
To understand the current process of finding information about a past project, we initiated conversations with different teams at the company to understand how they gather information related to past projects.
Initial market research
62%
American household still own a domestic printer
Costs of printing, toners and maintenance impacted the demand of printers since a decade, but the need still sustains
Although e-readers have become popular, some readers still prefer hard copy books enabling printing business
The expansion of commercial packaging, delivery and the increase for on-demand printing sustains printing needs
By reviewing customer comments and ratings on Amazon, we found the common brands preferred by users and their pain points associated with those printers
Canon Pixma
HP
Brother
Epson
User research
To understand the current usage pattern of printing at home, 30 focus interviews of mixed cohorts were conducted which further helped us map product usage journey and market trends.


“I don’t understand the printer properties on the computer to find the best setting for me”
School student
Devices required for printing setup are not available to a school going kid and the printer properties use jargon that is difficult to understand
Limited access to devices and knowledge about setup


“I have to download documents from my online university drive to print before submission”
College student
Setting up the devices and logging into multiple accounts to download documents at the last minute before submissions takes a lot of time
Lack of flexibility for multiple device connectivity


“I don’t have the time to edit graphics and format it to the correct printing layout”
Woman Enterprenuer
It is time consuming to edit multiple downloaded images and then format them to print them in appropriate formats and high quality
Lack of time for editing and formatting images to print


“I need to scan multiple papers and upload digital copies
online”
Business man
It is frustrating to log in to multiple accounts and download printing applications to simply scan, preview and export a scanned document
Too much effort for exporting scanned documents
Personas

Sarah, 24 years
Sarah is the social club head at her university. She manages the communication and events. She considers herself novice when printing high quality images.
-
Too much time spent in setting up the printer and downloading relevant apps to print or scan
-
Cannot choose the best printing setting and choose different applications to edit and format images
-
Face connectivity issues while sending documents to print from an external device
Challenges
“I want a device that does everything for from formatting to adjusting settings for me in one place”
Needs
-
​One stop solution for all printing need
-
Reduce dependency on multiple devices
Opportunity areas
Based on the pain points expressed by the users while using their printers, I translated these needs into opportunity areas to develop a solution that addresses the current challenges in the printing process.
Dependency on other devices is frustrating
Develop an intuitive, standalone interface with familiar functions to streamline the user experience
Using different applications for formatting and editing is tedious
Enable formatting and editing documents on the printer interface to reduce back and forth between applications
Limited flexibility of previewing and sharing files
Allow users to preview and share files over the internet from the interface to decrease export time
Ideation
User flow
Old
New
Final design
Ideation & Concept testing
Thoughts to sketches
We used quick wireframes to help visualise our ideas and iterated based on the feedback
Creating wireframes enabled the team to visualize concepts, provide feedback on features, and identify potential implementation challenges early, helping us stay on track with the project timeline.
User flow
We used quick wireframes to help visualise our ideas and iterated based on the feedback more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more
Documenting
Lack of accountability
Opportunity areas
Finding
Greater learning curve
Utilise automatic in everyday features to do time consuming tasks
Reviewing
Too many files to preview
Personalise the experience of viewing project files
Feature mapping
We used quick wireframes to help visualise our ideas and iterated based on the feedback more and more and more and more and more and more and more and more
Value
Accountability
Efficiency
Feature
File request
File upload search
Impact
Streamlines project management by ensuring timely documentation and reduces the risk of missing or outdated files
Saves time and frustration while locating relevant information by quickly identifying similar projects or parent project folder
Convenience
Quick preview
Eliminates the need to download multiple files or numerous tabs to quickly preview files in one place
Clarity
Compare
Reduces time spent on manual file comparisons by facilitating quicker decision-making to identify the most relevant file
Efficiency
Upload web links
Reduces redundancy and streamlines the workflow of uploading project files by eliminating the need to download and re-upload files from different applications
Organization
Label projects
Improves productivity by providing quick access to essential project files, eliminating the need to repeatedly search through directories
Final concepts
UI kit
Add all components here
Header
Finding similar projects and the people who worked on them in a database of over 10,000 files can be difficult. Uploading a reference file enables the smart search function to scan the database, identify similar projects, and pull up a list of past team members.
Step 2
Search file by uploading
Finding similar projects and the people who worked on them in a database of over 10,000 files can be difficult. Uploading a reference file enables the smart search function to scan the database, identify similar projects, and pull up a list of past team members.
Step 3
Quick preview & compare
Comparing project information by downloading and toggling between multiple files is time-consuming and cumbersome. By adding a selection of relevant files, users can compare them in a single view and download only the most relevant one.
User testing
Quick preview & compare
Comparing project information by downloading and toggling between multiple files is time-consuming and cumbersome. By adding a selection of relevant files, users can compare them in a single view and download only the most relevant one.
Learning & Takeaways
Quick preview & compare
Comparing project information by downloading and toggling between multiple files is time-consuming and cumbersome. By adding a selection of relevant files, users can compare them in a single view and download only the most relevant one.
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