User Research
harness the most elusive design resource
Whether you’re breaking into an established market, carving out one of your own, or looking to innovate on past success, user research is a critical component to success—and frequently under-utilized.
Simply aggregating data is typically not enough. A cogent strategy, both for collecting the right data from the right people, and for extracting insight from that data can make all the difference when it comes to product-market fit.
Build products users love
Our collaborative design process starts with crystalizing your vision; then leverages user and audience research to inform strategy; and finally, leans on technical expertise to execute with precision.
user research in action
Chicagoist
synopsis
We’ve entirely redesigned the Chicagoist identity and product with Chance The Rapper. We can’t talk about it yet but it’s going to be great! As part of our work with Chance, we also created a site for the Chicago alderman election.
The research
We planned over 40 user interviews in less than 5 days in Chicago, drawing insights for the business model & product development next steps.
What they say about us
“AE Studio is putting us in the best possible position. I was most impressed with how quickly they were able to get tasks done even when they were super complicated and took a heavy-lift. They always delivered.”
Terry Payne — Project Manager, The Chicagoist
njoy
synopsis
nJoy is a retail-tech app that connects local retailers with customers and travellers. Throughout a 3 month long, we have had over 200 conversations with business owners and employees in the retail, luxury and hospitality world. This in depth research and insights lead to closing our first contract with a major luxury hotel, as well as bring nJoy through another successful round of funding.
The research
We met over 100 business owners, managers & employees over a period of 3 months, leading to closing a contract with a leading hotel for a unique retail experience and implementing user feedback directly in the app and program.
What they say about us
The team at AE Studio allowed us to quickly get in front of users and secure our first strategic partnership. They were able to get up to speed on our complex product in record time, while iterating on our first version by constantly collecting user feedback.
Andrew Sipes — CEO, nJoy
ünifi
synopsis
üNiFi is an innovative cryptocurrency platform that allows users to borrow, lend and earn interest on their crypto. We've been designing the üNiFi website, as well as running a full user research project. Collecting feedback from users in the cryptocurrency space allowed us to think strategically in order to build the next iteration of the product.
The research
We met with cryptocurrency and blockchain experts with diverse level of expertise based in multiple countries
What they say about us
We were super impressed by the team's at AE Studio. Their ability to listen to our ideas, build our website quickly and iterate on it by collecting honest, unbiased feedback from potential users in just a matter of days definitely helped us build the right thing!
Adam Davis — Co-founder, üNiFi
smartsuite
synopsis
We did a deep research dive into how we could help improve the onboarding experience for new SmartSuite users. We handed off a backlog of recommendations and examples of improvements prioritized by impact and effort.
The research
Conducted Heuristic Evaluation (UX Audit) Interviewed 6 diverse SmartSuite users UX & onboarding feature analysis of 8 competitive tools
boyd gaming
synopsis
We ran a design sprint around how Boyd might level-up their rewards program through the use of blockchain x NFTs. We handed off proof of concept tappable designs of a gamified NFT reward program with custom branding and a plan for further validating with the target audience.
The research
Comparative analysis of how other gaming reward programs and large companies have offered blockchain reward programs, highlighting commonalities & opportunities. On ground collaborative product strategy and design workshop to hone in on a direction.
purveyors of premium pixels
Our designers have superpowers, and the CVs to match. Collectively, they have worked on some of the most successful brands and products in media, consumer technology, retail, and SaaS.
Aaron
DESIGN DIRECTOR
UX/Product Designer & Manager with 10+ years of experience across startups, large companies and agencies. Launched web and mobile apps focused on automation, data analysis, gamification, and much more.
Cristian
PRODUCT DESIGNER & MANAGER
Product Designer & Manager with 10+ years of experience in multiple verticals such as SaaS, E-commerce, Fintech, Mobility, and Healthcare. Cristian takes a holistic approach to product design & development and strives to provide an engaging user experience for every single stakeholder involved in the project he's working on.
Husam
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Product designer & manager & leader who has designed digital products used by millions of people worldwide. Has shipped web, mobile, and IoT products for companies of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Also taught UX research and design at the City University of New York where his curriculum led to the university’s first accredited UX program. His students have gone on to work for organizations like PayPal, Dropbox, and The Interaction Design Foundation.
ready to jump-start your next project?
Chat with one of our lovely humans