Leveling up prompt engineering
My journey designing a user-centric prompt management tool built for collaboration, organization and exploration.
Role
Product designer / Visual designer
Timeframe
May 2023-Present
Tools used Figma / Figjam / Mockup / Typeform / Webflow
The challenge
PromptHub’s MVP was built quickly, and it did its job. The co-founders were able to validate its problem-solving potential. With a growing waitlist of 1,000+, it was time for a design overhaul in order to improve the user experience.
As the new product designer at PromptHub, my role involved balancing the project's complexity and usability, while also managing feedback, feature requests, and improving the brand's visual design.
Exploration + research
Research began with survey analysis, one-on-one interviews and familiarizing myself with the competitive landscape.
Survey analysis
I sent the survey to an engaged segment of the waitlist, prospects who had demonstrated significant interest in PromptHub through email correspondence or video calls.
Over 150 people participated in the survey, resulting in an impressive 56% completion rate, surpassing the industry average. Additionally, 75% of the survey included open-ended questions, leading to the collection of high-quality responses.
“What I dislike about my current tool is that it's a bit tedious to change the model and keep a neat workflow that can be tracked.”
“I'm currently testing many different platforms, plugins and browser extensions. My ideal platform would have everything together in a single toolset.”
Key takeaways
Ease of use is incredibly important to both non-technical and technical users. They don’t have time to learn a new tool.
People recognize that prompt testing is nuanced and calls for conversation. However, even with that knowledge, they recognize that they are still not collaborating well enough.
People are looking for an all-in-one solution to manage their prompts.
Empathizing + ideating
By developing empathy for our users, I could strategically prioritize features and shape designs that resonate on a meaningful level.
Personas
I created three personas, Otto, Joseph and Skylar, to represent the main users I had identified during the research stage. By tapping into their goals, needs and expectations, I’d have an easier time focusing on feature prioritization and advocating for my design decisions.
Prompt engineering may seem technical, but only one of the personas is an engineer. Because of that, we determined that the Github-inspired design that was showcased in the beta had to be paired down. Building an intuitive and easy to use product was the top priority.
Design
Paper prototypes allowed the team + I to quickly align on important design decisions. We agreed that minimal CTAs, hidden filters and intentional feature organization would be critical to keeping the experience frictionless.
Iterating on the design
By continually monitoring analytics and conducting user interviews, I was able to adapt, enhance, and fine-tune designs to ensure they aligned seamlessly with user needs and preferences.
The Prompt Testing Page was challenging to users. The page was overwhelming and important features like version control were overshadowed.
I enhanced the visibility and streamlined the page to ensure a more user-friendly and digestible experience.
At the start, we held the assumption that the Prompt Library would contain a limited number of prompts per team.
Conversations with users and a shift in perspective ignited the redesign of the Prompt Library to cater to larger teams and to accommodate a more extensive collection of prompts.
Building the visual identity
Besides designing the product, I also worked on the brand design. Throughout the development of the brand guidelines, a clear message guided me: infuse the brand with trustworthiness while preserving its approachability.
The brand's color palette is a unique blend of reliability and creativity, imbuing each interaction with a spark of inspiration. Our fonts effortlessly convey clarity and trust, embodying our pursuit of excellence. Through purposeful photography, we narrate the story of AI's tangible, positive impact on the world, revealing our human-centered approach and transformative potential.
