JobTackle

Easing friction to elevate user experience: A UX writing app design case study

THE PROJECT
Establish voice and make UI edits for a fictional project management and payments app designed for freelancers and business owners to work together on small projects.

THE SOLUTION
As the only UX writer on the JobTackle product team, I worked to develop and apply the app’s voice and advised on information architecture and content design.

THE RESULTS
I established an effective product voice and implemented solid UX writing principles to make JobTackle more user-centric, earning my UX writing certification on the first of two possible attempts.

Case study snapshot

Project: US app design

Company: JobTackle*

Users: freelancers, business owners

My role: UX writer

Focus: content strategy, UX writing, information architecture, voice and tone development

*a fictional app concept created by UX Content Collective

Challenge: Prepare UI text for a final design review

A big design review was coming up with the Head of User Experience and the VP of Product. My design teammate reached out to me for help. They sent me a Figma file with over 60 screens that were far from user-ready. The UI text needed some serious finesse. I jumped in to make sure we’d deliver a clear, concise, and useful conversation between JobTackle and its users.

Solution: Define and apply JobTackle’s voice to create a smooth app experience

Discovery: Get to know target users

Finding the right solution for the UI text started by taking a look at who would be using JobTackle.

The user research team shared two distinct personas to represent our target users, a business owner (Tom) and a freelance web developer (Kelly).

In this scenario, Tom hired Kelly to redesign his HVAC business website.

Business Owner

Tom Stewart

age 62, low-tech, patient, hands off

Freelancer

Kelly Chan

age 24, tech savvy, impatient, hands on

To start building a product voice, I dove into online conversations to gather more insights.

I mined sites and forums used by freelancers and business owners to get familiar with words and terms users like Tom and Kelly use when collaborating.

I started to define voice attributes built on the shared vocabulary that would appeal to both business owners and freelancers.

Ideation: Outline a product voice to support all users

I wrote and shared some JobTackle taglines to help everyone hone in on the product voice. These taglines speak to both user types, highlighting product benefits. My aim was to capture the real value of using the app. This exercise helped dig into what JobTackle’s all about.

JobTackle tags

  • Painless payments and tracking for jobs well done

  • No job is finished until the paperwork is fun

  • Project tracking and payments all in one place

To dig deeper, I edited a hefty first draft of landing page for JobTackle. The product manager had written it, but it needed to be as clear, concise, and compelling for users as possible.

I corrected spelling and grammar errors to improve readability. I also reduced the word count by over 130 words to make it easier to scan, playing with voice and tone along the way.

BEFORE

[HEADLINE]

Welcome to the 1 and ONLY Jobtackle App!!!

[BODY TEXT]

Why would you want to use this app? Well let me tell you its because there are so many awesome things about it.

Here’s what you can do: if you’re a freelancer, you can add up all the hours of work you did for your project and then send the client a request for payment, you can subtract all your hours from the budget, you can keep track of how much money the hiring business owner has paid you!

If you’re the boss hiring someone, don’t feel like you can’t use this product to keep your workers inline, you can! Its the only application that you can use right this second to see whether your over the budget on your project. For the most part, there’s no need to even talk to the person who works for you. Everything is in the app that you need to know: you can make payments and everything. There’s even a feature called BUDGET APPROVAL so you can send a question about why your freelancer’s estimate for the project is so high. Or there’s another feature where you can add a PROJECT DESCRIPTION with the dates written out for milestones or your priorities for the project.

Back to you freelancer people, don’t you want an easy way to charge your client without having to call them or bug them for money?

And you business owners, aren’t you sick and tired of all that paper keeping track of your projects? Isn’t it so annoying that you never know how much your contractors are even getting done? Well now you can and do it all on the go!!

This simple, easy app lets freelancers and business owners work together on projects, charge money and get paid, and keep track of hours worked. It’s great and you need it.

[PRIMARY CTA]

Click here to get this incredible app!!

[SECONDARY CTA – ADD EMAIL TO MAILING LIST]

Not interested in getting this app right now? How about you submit your phone number and email address for us to contact you in the future? Do that right here!

Type your valid email address:

AFTER

[HEADLINE]

Easier payments and project tracking for jobs well done

[Include below JobTackle logo]

[BODY TEXT]

The JobTackle app makes working together easier than ever for freelancers and business owners. No more calls to beg for money, and no more messy paperwork. Project tracking, billing, and communication is all in one place.

Freelancers stay organized and stress free with JobTackle:

  • Log hours

  • Bill business owners

  • Track payments

  • Invite and message collaborators

    [animation or short video showcasing freelancer app benefits]

Business owners stay on top of project progress and freelance hires:

  • Track hours

  • Manage project plans

  • Watch budgets

  • Send payments

  • Keep connected

[animation or short video]

Why get stuck working too hard at working together? Collaborate, track projects, pay, and get paid with JobTackle.

[PRIMARY CTA]

Try JobTackle now

[SECONDARY CTA – ADD EMAIL TO MAILING LIST]

Want to learn more? Connect with the JobTackle team and get helpful business tips right in your inbox by sharing your email.

Email: [hint text] Enter email

While completing the marketing email task, I noted some common terms popping up which helped shape the voice. These terms would start to build the the app’s style guidelines.

Design: Apply JobTackle’s voice to mockups

When I got the design mockups, I was ready to focus on improving the JobTackle app’s UI. To get the copy user-ready, I applied the voice, tone, and style I defined directly in the Figma files.

My first task was to help design the onboarding experience. This first flow needed to help both business owners and freelancers understand the app’s benefit.

Onboarding - Before:

On the welcome screen, I told users WHY they should care about JobTackle. For each additional screen, I focused on one unique benefit and backed up the headline with compelling copy to keep users interested, informed, and flowing forward.

To help users move ahead confidently, I also made the button copy consistent and parallel.

Onboarding - After:

My edits are in green and comments for the designer are in purple.

Thanks for reading.

Check back soon to see this finished case study, or view my final JobTackle mockups now in Figma at the links: