From Insights to Action: Forecast Trends, Boost Engagement.
Overview
AdVantage gives marketers the strategic edge they’ve been missing.
AdVantage is a trend monitoring and forecasting web platform designed for marketing agencies. Its primary goal is to streamline the research and discovery processes for creative teams, enabling them to focus on their core expertise: crafting impactful ad campaigns that deliver measurable results for their clients.
How it all started
This project was developed independently as a portfolio showcase, completed within a six-week timeframe. Throughout the process, I conducted in-depth UX research, persona development, and UI design.
As a graphic designer in a marketing firm, I witnessed firsthand how challenging it is for creative directors to stay current with social media trends while managing their daily tasks and delivering innovative ideas to clients. This inspired me to create a solution tailored to their workflow. The target audience for this project includes creative directors and account managers within advertising agencies.
Research Phase
User Interviews
MoneyMind is designed to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by creative professionals and the methodologies used to predict and adopt trends, I employed a multi-faceted research approach. This included:
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Three interviews with real potential users (Ohad, Kim, and Eylon).
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Two AI-assisted interviews to supplement insights.
Key Insights
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Inaccurate Audience Targeting - Campaigns often fail to reach the right leads, wasting creative potential.
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Client Bureaucracy - Layers of approvals delay or block bold, innovative ideas.
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Time Constraints - Creative teams are too busy with immediate tasks to explore emerging trends.
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Trend Saturation - Late adoption of trends can harm brand perception and reduce campaign effectiveness.
Expert Consultation
To further enrich the research, I conducted an interview with Or Shalom, a professional trend forecaster. She provided insights into:
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The platforms and tools used for trend research.
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Challenges in identifying and validating trends.
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The difference between fleeting trends and larger consumer or cultural shifts.
These insights emphasized the importance of context, data reliability, and structured trend analysis, informing the development of AdVantage.
Competitor Analysis
I analyzed three major competitors: Meltwater, Brandwatch, and Talkwalker. Each platform was evaluated based on features, user experience, and pain points.
Key Takeaways
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Lack of foresight trend prediction in some platforms.
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Overwhelming interfaces that hinder usability.
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Limited customization options for creative professionals.
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No free trial options to reduce barriers to entry.
Data Analysis & Synthesis
Once I had all the interviews, I needed to make sense of the information. I used affinity mapping to group responses into themes, looking for patterns across different users.
Affinity Mapping
I organized the research findings into clusters, revealing common themes and relationships between different user pain points and needs.
User Stories & Journey Maps
A comprehensive user story and journey map was developed to track the creative team's experience from trend discovery to campaign implementation, highlighting key touchpoints and opportunities for improvement.
Mind Mapping
The mind mapping phase helped organize ideas and shape the platform’s key features. It clarified what creative directors need, prioritized actionable insights, and showed how the different parts of the platform connect.
Defining the Problem & Hypothesis
Crafting a problem statement and an hypothesis statement ensured that every design decision remained focused on solving real user problems rather than assumptions.
Problem Statement
Alex, a busy creative director, needs a centralized platform to track trends, analyze behavior, and gain competitor insights—keeping him ahead without feeling overwhelmed.
Hypothesis Statement
If we create a centralized platform that consolidates trend tracking, consumer behavior analysis, and competitor insights, Alex will save time, feel less overwhelmed, and focus more on strategic creative thinking.
HMW (How Might We) Questions
To measure the platform’s success, I established clear, quantifiable metrics:
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HMW automate the trend discovery process to free up time for creative strategy?
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HMW make it easier to track competitors’ strategies and campaign performance?
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HMW provide data-backed insights that make clients feel confident about adopting trends early?
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HMW foster trust with clients by simplifying data presentations and showing clear connections to their goals?
Setting KPI's
To measure the platform’s success, I established clear, quantifiable metrics:
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Content Download Rate - 40% of users regularly download resources.
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Client Campaign ROI - 20% ROI increase for campaigns using platform insights.
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Trend Identification Accuracy - 90% relevance accuracy in trend suggestions.
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Free-to-Premium Conversion Rate - 25-30% conversion rate within six months.
Diving into the Design Process
Competitive & Inspirational Research
I explored the three key competitors while also analyzing Mobbin for best-in-class system inspiration. I created dedicated inspiration boards for each core component, including the dashboard, AI chat, and reports.
Diving into the Design Process
Ideation & Wire-framing:
Used Crazy 8s to rapidly generate multiple UI directions:
Structuring the System
To better understand the platform’s structure, I created a User Flow and Sitemap. Mapping out the system tree revealed the complexity of the platform and helped me identify which pages were most critical for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Focusing on these pages ensured I could deliver a streamlined and impactful solution within the project’s timeline.
Close-up on the User Journey
Next, I developed a User Journey Map to visualize how users would navigate the platform and interact with its features. This map became the foundation for designing Low-Fidelity Sketches, ensuring the user’s experience remained central to the design process.
Final Sketches
Once the mind map and user journey were finalized, I created detailed sketches of the screens to clearly define how I wanted the wireframes to look in Figma.
Wireframes and High-Fidelity Design
Once the low-fidelity sketches were finalized, I moved into Figma to bring the design to life. This stage involved translating rough sketches into clean and functional wireframes, iterating on layouts, and ensuring that the designs adhered to the platform’s goals of usability and personalization.
Conclusion & Next Steps
AdVantage was a rewarding project that allowed me to tackle real-world challenges faced by creative teams in the advertising industry. By combining research, user insights, and a focus on simplicity, I developed a user-friendly platform that empowers professionals to stay ahead of trends and create impactful campaigns.
What I Learned
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Research is Key: User interviews and competitor analysis revealed how to design solutions that address real needs.
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Simplicity Matters: Balancing a feature-rich platform with a clean, intuitive UI is crucial for usability.
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Iterate & Refine: Feedback at every design stage improved functionality and user experience.
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Think Long-Term: Designing for scalability ensures the platform can grow with user needs.
Future Plans
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Enhance AI Predictions: Improve trend accuracy and personalization.
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Add Collaboration Features: Introduce team workspaces and shared tools.
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Launch Mobile Accessibility: Build a mobile app for on-the-go trend tracking.
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Customizable Reports: Enable tailored, branded client reports.
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Live Campaign Tracking: Link real-time campaign performance to trends.
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Interactive Onboarding: Help new users quickly adopt the platform.
This project not only expanded my design skills but also taught me how to craft scalable, user-centered solutions. I’m excited to refine AdVantage and apply these learnings to future challenges.