PROJECT BACKGROUND :
Zeyka is a start-up, which has created 3D design software that helps architects & designers design using a real-time material library, while saving their time and enhancing productivity. I joined Zeyka straight out of college as the UX designer & Product Development Lead after I completed my bachelor's in architecture. With the aim to design a revolutionary product which can help architects & designers like us, Yug Agarwal (the founder), Vipul Takkar (the CTO) and I, began a journey to bring this vision to life. I spent 2 years working in Zeyka, and this project explores snippets from some of the work I did there. Zeyka is currently an up and running design software managed by the CEO & CTO.
PROJECT TIMELINE :
Done between August 2021 and July 2023
CORE TEAM :
Designer : Parul Gupta, CEO & Founder : Yug Agarwal, CTO : Vipul Kakkar
ROLE :
During my 2 year stint at Zeyka, I contributed to several aspects of the whole product journey. I, along with the founder, conceptualised & designed the product from scratch and brought it to an MVP stage. I also oversaw the product development along with the CTO to ensure that every element of the design was being reproduced in the final coded product. Further, I conducted several rounds of research, both secondary & primary to study the market and our target users. I also created the content for & managed Zeyka's instagram page while creating all other forms of marketing collateral as well. Lastly, I helped in creating product demo videos, the pitch decks for investors and participated in testing & promoting the product.
LEARNINGS :
I was introduced to the design world (outside of architecture) through Zeyka, where I, as a complete beginner, learned methods of user research, basics of UX design & product development by self-learning. I learned what goes into creating a service and ensuring it can impart value to its users as well as other stakeholders. Through several long days turning into nights and un-ending grind, I learned how to bring a vision and an idea into life - an actual real-life product which can be used by people. I saw every aspect of what it takes to start a company and make sure that it stays afloat, in the process learning a lot about how a business works. Before even learning what service design meant, I was working to ensure how a product can attain desirability, have the technological feasibility to create it, and the commercial viability to sustain it. I saw several ups and downs that an entrepreneur faces during their journey, and I was a part of this incredible journey for two years which set the course of the rest of my life by teaching me why service design is important, and what goes into creating meaningful services that help make the world a better place. Most of all, I learned how to see-through a product's entire life-cycle, which taught me a tremendous
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THE PROBLEM
Why did Zeyka happen?
OPPORTUNITY
What went into strategising Zeyka's offering?
SOLUTION
What is Zeyka's positionality in the market?
RESEARCH
Project Lifecycle Analysis
PRIMARY USER BASE
USER RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
Main challenges faced by architects & interior designers
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
We analysed the market & user research to narrow down on the primary challenges & needs that need to be catered to -
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The following principles were kept in mind while beginning the design process of our product as seen below -
IDEATION & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
The initial idea for the product & the first few iterations of the different features have been displayed here, the journey from the first idea to the final MVP of the product has been explored in the following section -
This is how the product's working was imagined in the beginning -
Designing the real-time material library
(initially as a separate section of the platform, by getting product information from partner-brands & creating a digital library around them)
Initial user-flow of the real-time material library
CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS
the initial User Experience, Interface & functioning of the product as a whole posed several challenges, which were analysed & then strategised for -
FINAL PRODUCT & USER FLOW
From the challenges & learnings of the initial iterations, this was the finalised product -
See how some of the features work -
Importing 3D model & designing using real materials & products & generating automatic BOQs
VALUE GENERATION & USER FEEDBACK
from our primary users - Architects & Interior Designers
STANDING OUT
Competitor Analysis
MARKET ANALYSIS
Calculating the market size to understand scope of our product
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Building the Revenue Model for the product
MARKETING COLLATERAL
In addition to core product development, I worked on preparing marketing collateral for the company as well, in the forms of 'Instagram Posts', 'WhatsApp marketing images' & posters & brochures. The instagram posts were designed as illustrations to educate architects about best design practices & increase engagement on the page
