Client Dashboard
Jan 12, 2018
A unified experience that brings Optica’s premium research applications together — turning disconnected links into an integrated client experience.
Overview
The Client Dashboard redesign transformed a fragmented collection of product links into a modern, data-driven experience that promotes Optica’s full suite of premium research applications. The new experience features both a public “teaser” site and an authenticated dashboard that encourages cross-subscription engagement and showcases personalized content and analytics.
Goals
Modernize the legacy site of static links into a visually engaging, value-driven hub.
Cross-promote subscriptions across the newly unified Optica suite.
Encourage discovery and deeper engagement with Optica’s research library.
Integrate the redesigned Insights Library into the authenticated experience.
Establish measurable analytics and calls-to-action to track successful cross-promotion.
Discovery
We began by interviewing product owners across all Optica applications — historically managed as independent entities — to identify and align on shared user tasks and business objectives.
Key activities included:
Task Mapping: Identified overlapping user needs across premium applications.
Journey Mapping: Visualized end-to-end user flows and quantified frustration points.
User Validation: Conducted quick hallway tests and follow-up interviews with early research participants to confirm relevance of proposed features.
Insights from this discovery phase directly informed both the authenticated dashboard and the individual application homepages, ensuring consistency and reducing friction for multi-product users.
Implementation
The implementation phase modernized the underlying technology and streamlined core user experiences.
Technical modernization:
Rebuilt the outdated framework into a Core/Angular architecture.
Improved performance, accessibility, and maintainability.
User experience enhancements:
Login and authentication flows rebuilt for clarity and security.
Reset password and user profile management redesigned to improve usability.
Added team setup and display preferences (currency, date format, etc.).
Defined visual hierarchy and layout through iterative wireframing and testing.
Collaboration was key — product teams across applications co-prioritized content and interaction models, creating a shared design language that represented the unified Optica brand.
Outcome
The redesign delivered measurable business and cultural impact:
+6% client retention rate following launch of the consolidated navigation and dashboard.
Increased cross-product engagement, with analytics showing more users exploring adjacent subscriptions.
Sustained cross-team collaboration: The dashboard initiative broke down silos, creating an ongoing, user-centered partnership across previously independent application teams.
Design Previews
Public “non-subscriber” dashboard (desktop)
Authenticated subscriber dashboard (desktop)
Key Takeaway
The Client Dashboard wasn’t just a redesign — it was a reinvention of how Optica connects with its subscribers. By combining research insights, technology modernization, and unified design leadership, we created a cohesive ecosystem that delivers value to users and measurable results to the business.