The problem
Starting as a level-up of an existing tool, this project became a cornerstone in a switch towards turning our product towards a more solopreneur audience.
Previously, Picsart had been solely focused on a consumer segment that was rapidly growing up and entering the working world. This project aimed to identify a strong conversion opportunity, and reacquire many of the users who may have moved on to more 'professional' tools.
What I wanted to learn
The solopreneur voice was relatively alien to us, as our previous focus had been very Gen Z focused. We aimed to understand if our voice still resonated with these users, and to discover any opportunities to build a foundation for our approach in future tools too.
We'd run a series of language-focused, unmoderated tests. Moderated testing would be used to listen in their own words. A second round of unmoderated testing to ensure a good fit MVP.
What we found
- For Gen Z, we'd previously discovered that they have an odd mix of tech knowledge with huge gaps. (For example, folder structures tend not to be fully understood with this segment, given they're used to app-specific storage).
- For solopreneurs, we found that their main driver is time. They didn't need anything clever. They need something that works and isn't another chore on their list to work through.
- Users would generally focus on visual aspects of the page, looking for more of a 'vibe' than sequentially going through the experience, which we needed them to do for the AI to create good results.
- As we'd seen before with Gen Z, AI tools like this one have an 'empty text box' problem that most users get frustrated with.
What I did
Artificial problems, human solutions. In the field, we can talk about 'Prompts' and other AI terms easily, but frankly, most users don't really care. If the output is good with minimal effort, they don't need to know what tech is powering it.
- I'd create a consistent story through all placeholder text to help guide users towards what will give them the best results.
- We'd turn the screen into a conversation. By changing the label text to direct questions, it brought the experience closer to the user working directly with a designer.
- We'd limit the mentions to AI and focus more on the 'vibe' of the logo they were trying to accomplish.
Every string on the screen was a decision
Open any one of these and I will tell you why it is worded that way.
Simple, yet engaging. It's something the user can complete without even thinking.
What happened
We launched this feature on the main stage at WebSummit Lisbon to great applause. The story was clear, and the copy contributed towards telling it. We've seen 50% of MAU try the tool, with a 75% export rate.