The challenge
Salons, beauty and medical spas, studios, and gyms use Millennium Systems International (MSI) software to manage business records, scheduling, point-of-sale transactions, and business and marketing goals. When we met, MSI was already an industry leader, so the stakes were high when they asked my team to redesign their flagship business management software suite from the ground up.
What they had
The platform's ancient user interface had become so unwieldy and cumbersome to understand, maintain, and run that it was beginning to negatively impact sales effectiveness and support costs.
The CEO wrote the existing product himself in Visual FoxPro, a dead language, and their customers often called it "popup hell." New customer expectations like modern user interface design, touch device compatibility, and cloud-based services meant it was time for a change.
The big idea
The appointment calendar, one of the most challenging, complex parts of the spa/salon back office, led to one of the platform's most distinctive competitive advantages: fuzzy logic and natural language processing. This innovative solution not only solved a complex problem but also set a new standard in the industry, inspiring others to think outside the box.
We went through several rounds of interaction design to enable staff to type, text, or talk in a natural, conversational manner, and the scheduler would "just get it." We recognized that we had just invented a new concept: conversational booking. The client immediately recognized the power of this invention and patented it, securing their competitive advantage. They even trademarked the name we came up with: "ConvoBar."
Understanding the client's clients
Designing for salons and spas presents unique challenges due to the diverse user base. Our primary user research revealed distinct persona segmentations across generational gaps. For instance, younger users are more comfortable with text entry, especially speech-to-text, while older users prefer to navigate through menus with a mouse. This led us to coin the terms "Texter" and "Clicker" to ensure our system catered to both needs.
Redesigned interactions
Powered by a killer idea, the rest of the process of redesigning the product was a matter of applying our experience with UX best practices across the entire functional suite: booking, point of sale, client management, employee management, goal tracking, marketing, reporting, inventory management, and more.
Developing a modern look and feel
We went through several rounds of iteration to find the right design language, producing several sets of mood boards and style compositions.
The look we settled on is nothing less than gorgeous — a bold, typography-forward style that defined the brand image for the new generation. This modern and sleek design not only enhances the user experience but also sets a new standard for aesthetics in the industry, making the product a delight to use.
The result
The redesigned product was a resounding success, earning over 40 industry awards since launch, including American Spa Magazine's highest honor eight years in a row: the Professional's Choice Award for Best Software. Since launch, MSI has expanded the platform to a new technology stack to deploy to a wider range of devices, while maintaining the same revolutionary user experience that propelled them to the forefront of the industry.
