Fronted: The future of remote hiring
Fronted has been a project that was derived from the circumstances that we are all going through since 2019. Remote working had become a necessity and hiring platforms had not yet become friendly for the prospect of gaining work unrestricted to location. To cater to this, Fronted was a job platform created specifically to target remote hiring.
My Role
As the design lead, I oversaw the entire design process from conceptualization to wireframing.
I collaborated closely with the development team to ensure seamless integration of design and development efforts. Working independently, I crafted the user interface for all screens, including responsive design variations, to deliver a cohesive and user-centric experience. Content scaling the whole site was planned and crafted.
The Problem
The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a global shift in workforce dynamics, with remote work becoming the new norm. This rapid transition exposed a critical gap in the job market: a dearth of platforms specifically designed to cater to remote job seekers. Traditional job platforms were ill-equipped to handle the unique requirements and preferences of remote workers.
Fronted emerged as a solution to this problem, aiming to create a user-friendly platform that simplifies the remote job search process. The platform needed to address the challenges faced by individuals transitioning to remote work and provide a seamless experience for job seekers navigating this new employment landscape.
The Solution
We aimed to create a streamlined and intuitive platform designed to ease the transition to remote work. The platform's core focus was on creating a simple and efficient user experience by clearly differentiating between employer and employee functionalities.
To foster a positive user experience, a visually appealing and engaging interface was essential. The platform's design aimed to create a welcoming environment that reflected the evolving nature of work and offered a sense of hope and optimism during challenging times.
By prioritizing user needs and focusing on a clear task flow, Fronted sought to empower job seekers and employers alike to navigate the complexities of the remote work landscape with confidence and ease.
The Process
User Research and Empathy Building
To fully understand the target audience and their needs, extensive user research was conducted. This involved conducting surveys, interviews, and usability tests with both job seekers and employers. The goal was to identify key pain points and opportunities within the remote job search process.
Defining the Solution and Key Features
Based on the insights gathered from user research, a core set of features was defined. These features included a streamlined job search experience, clear differentiation between employer and employee dashboards, and a visually appealing and user-friendly interface.
Information Architecture and User Flow
To ensure a seamless user experience, a robust information architecture was developed. This involved mapping out the user journey, creating sitemaps, and defining clear navigation paths. The focus was on creating a logical and intuitive flow that guided users through the platform efficiently.
Design and Prototyping
Using design tools such as Figma or Sketch, wireframes and mockups were created to visualize the platform's layout and user interface. Iterative design processes were employed to refine the design based on user feedback and testing.
The UI
We aimed to convey a fun, peaceful and crystal clear interface due to the unfamiliarity of the concept to most of our users. To do that we chose a pastel color palette of primarily blue, yellow, salmon and grey. Our illustrations were derived from an existing illustration library (Open Peeps). This library was chosen because of it’s funky style and the emotional diversity of the illustrations depicting people from different ethnicities, races, genders and even people of determination. This was the freedom we wanted to covey through the platform hence we decided to go ahead with it.
3 of the main UI components were - The Star, The People and the The Shape:
The Star - To convey that every hire is a star that makes up that wide sky and has its own shine.
The People - We used illustrations that represent people. To represent a solidarity and convey that Fronted was all about the people.
The Shape - We used shapes like circles and abstract objects (blobs) to bring an aesthetic appeal and balance out the other 2 elements.
