Designing A More Engaging Community Forum

Designed for Lucid Software in 2023
A cover image showing a screenshot of Lucid's Community forum against a gradient background that goes from a light orange to a light purple.
Overview

In 2023, Lucid Software decided to completely remake their Community Forum. Using a new vendor, Gainsight Digital Hub, Lucid's Community team sought to introduce new functionality while also introducing a new visual style. I was tasked with leading a small, multi-disciplinary development team to design the service and oversee it's development.

One unique challenge of this project is that I was extremeley limited in terms of customization. Gainsight does not allow reorganization of content, so any changes we made from their default configuration were mostly cosmetic. Some areas, such as search results, are custom and is connected to other user support platforms offered by Lucid, such as their Help Center and Training Labs.

After the project's completion I was awarded with company-wide recognition after being nominated by the project's stakeholders for exemplary performance.

Understanding the Users

Proto-Personas
A proto-persona profile for a new user named nico
A proto-persona profile for a new user named nora
A proto-persona profile for a power user named Paula

A look at the results

community.lucid.co
A screenshot showcasing the home page of Lucid's new Community forum
A screenshot showcasing a post page for Lucid's new Community forum
A screenshot showcasing the search results for Lucid's new Community forum
A screenshot showcasing a group page for Lucid's new Community forum