Render Genius: on-demand B2B 3D professionals
Brief
Render Genius needed to realign their value proposition to stand out from the crowded “Freelancers on-demand” marketplaces.
More importantly, they wanted to build a stronger brand that would attract the best 3D designers ad technicians to ensure large product design and architectural companies would become long term B2B clients of the platform.
Role
I was responsible for leading the UX design – conducting research, information architecture, personas, wireframes, user flows, and helping shape the design direction along with high-fidelity designs.
Outcome
The final solution comprised of a two-sided marketplace with a focus on the software expertise and technical capabilities of the talent. We created a unique and exciting brand experience to attract the best technicians, increasing user retention and engagement.
Background
A genius approach
Render Genius was a two-sided marketplace connecting top-tier 3d modeling and rendering professionals to companies seeking their services on a project-to-project basis. It was a B2B marketplace where top companies would post projects, and 3d professionals bid on them. The major differentiating factor was that all prices were capped based on a tier system, and the competition was on artist portfolio and competence.
The challenge
Most of the freelancing platforms were generic and non-specialized. On top of that, a third-party plug and play word press theme was used to launch the project.
We experienced the following three major challenges:
1 - How could we create a unique identity within a sea of generic freelancing platforms?
2- How could we attract top-tier talent to the platform?
3- How could we make an exciting UX for companies to hire talent?
Kick Off
First steps
To discover more about the problem space, we relied on surveys and user interviews from 3D professionals asking them about their challenges in the field, feedback on existing designs, and which platforms they were already using to find work.
The Discovery
Early insights and bombshells
We discovered that branding played a critical role for design-focused individuals. A majority of 3d professionals wrote back saying they decided on the company based on their branding, UI, and number of projects.
The use of any imagery, models on the website meant that most of the 3D artists/designers judged the platform based on the quality of the assets. We decided to use people instead of 3d assets for the UI.
“3d Artists wanted to work with a platform that understood their workflow”
A majority of the users were frustrated with generic freelancing platforms. They found it difficult to sympathize with clients approaching them through a platform offering writers, designers, developers, and the rest work along side them.
Most platforms were generic and did not cater specifically towards 3d artists. Simple tasks like taking down requirements, showcasing work or collaborating with the client on design revisions were not thought through according to their workflow.
Reframing The Problem
Which community of curated professionals deserved the most attention?
Extensive user testing through prototypes revealed that the supply side of the marketplace (i.e, companies seeking talent) depended on exclusivity and found exclusiveness to be a unique selling proposition.
If random, new 3d artists were signing up every day, they found it to be just like any other freelancing platform, and their interest diminished, resulting in low platform engagement.
The Repackage
RENDER GENIUS:
ON-DEMAND 3D GENIUSES FOR YOUR PROJECT.
The term genius is used to define a subset of intelligent people. It is used to describe people who have extraordinary abilities and skills.
We used the tagline and upgraded the design to make it into an artist-focused platform where the experience centered around hiring the best money could buy.
Three primary questions informed our design and UX strategy:
1- How could we make the designers and artists feel becoming part of something special?
By making the signup process difficult and adding more human interface touchpoints, we conveyed that we were serious about hiring only the best.
2- How could we make a skills-oriented platform instead of an experience-based platform?
We did that by focusing on particular software skills - blender, 3d max, Solidworks, cinema 4d, and getting an artist in our team to validate the skill level.
3- How could we get more companies to work with us?
By curating the best talent, grading their progress, and validating their skills through our onboarding process, we were able to get very talented people to join our platform.
The impact
The final solution comprised of a two-sided marketplace with a focus on the software expertise and technical capabilities of the talent. We created a unique and exciting brand experience to attract the best technicians, increasing user retention and engagement.
New User Signups (Supply side) (Increase)
75%
Profile completion rate (Increase)
80%
Return Rate/weekly (Increase)
25%
