InnovationQ+
AI-powered intellectual property and patent search platform that combines semantic search, non-patent literature, and data visualization tools to streamline innovation management and competitive analysis.
CATEGORY
UI/UX
TIME
8 Months
PROMPT
Implement Ip.com's new Bluejay design system and conponent library into InnovationQ+ and streamline user workflows with minimal friction.
TOOLS
Figma
ROLE
Product Designer
TEAM
Lead Product Designer, 2 Product Designers (including myself)
FINAL DESIGN PREVIEW
The New InnovationQ+
Discover Search
AI-powered semantic search tool that uncovers relevant patents and technologies, providing deeper insights beyond traditional keyword searches.
HD Analyze Search
A data visualization tool that enables users to visually explore and analyze patent landscapes, innovation trends, and competitive insights through intuitive, high-definition graphs and charts.
Custom Charts
Create personalized visualizations, generating tailored analysis of patent data, trends, and competitive landscapes to meet specific research or reporting needs.
INTRO
What’s InnovationQ+
InnovationQ+ is a powerful intellectual property (IP) and patent search platform, designed to provide insights for invention management, competitive intelligence, and research and development. A few key features includes semantic search, AI-powered search and analytics, and data visualization.
What's the problem?
With InnovationQ's old architecture, the new design system, Bluejay, needs to be implemented into InnovationQ+ for increased efficiency in future releases. While the design system allows for a component library to streamline the backend code, InnovationQ will also undergo a design facelift along with user experience improvements.
USER RESEARCH
Understanding Our Users
1. The Suit 👔
Patent Attorney/
Intellectual Property Professional
PERSONA
An IP lawyer or patent attorney responsible for conducting prior art searches, drafting patent applications, and advising clients on IP strategies.
GOAL
Ensure the patentability of an invention and provide clients with comprehensive IP advice.
USER STORY
The Patent Attorney receives a client inquiry about patenting a new technology or product and needs to assess the novelty of the idea. He logs into InnovationQ+ to perform a thorough patent and non-patent literature search.
He uses the AI-powered semantic search to identify relevant patents and technical literature, ensuring no stone is left unturned. He reviews patent documents, relevant prior art, and related scientific papers. He uses HD Analyze to spot trends and assess potential infringement risks.
After analyzing the results, he creates a detailed prior art report for the client, ensuring they have a clear picture of the patentability of their invention. Based on the findings, he advises the client on next steps, whether it's pursuing a patent or revising the invention to avoid conflicts with prior art.
2. The Strategist 📈
R&D Team Lead/
Innovation Manager
PERSONA
An R&D or innovation manager tasked with scouting emerging technologies, developing new products, and staying ahead of competitors.
GOAL
Identify new technologies or ideas to enhance product development and maintain a competitive edge.
USER STORY
The R&D team discusses new project ideas and identifies the need to research existing technologies. The R&D Manager explores the current patent landscape and looks for potential inspiration from existing technologies on InnovationQ+.
He performs a broad semantic search, filtering results by specific industries, timeframes, and geographical regions. He analyzes patents filed by key competitors and visualizes clusters of innovations using Custom Charts.
He identifies potential areas for R&D investment by assessing technological gaps or unexplored opportunities in the industry. The team collaborates within InnovationQ+, sharing insights and refining their product ideas based on findings from the search, deciding whether to proceed with product development or adjust their project direction.
3. The Scout 🔍
Competitive Intelligence Analyst
PERSONA
An analyst responsible for tracking competitors’ intellectual property activities, technological developments, and market trends to inform business strategy.
GOAL
Monitor competitors’ IP portfolios and identify potential threats or opportunities.
USER STORY
The analyst is tasked with gathering competitive intelligence to inform business decisions and strategy. He analyzes patent filings by competitors and identifies new technologies they are developing, searches for patents filed by specific competitors, and uses the AI-powered search to uncover related technologies.
With HD Analyze, he tracks innovation trends, looking for patterns in competitor filings to predict future products or market shifts.
He identifies any patents that might pose infringement risks to the company's products or IP portfolio and compiles a report highlighting competitor activities, technological trends, and any identified risks or opportunities, presenting it to senior management. He sets up alerts within InnovationQ+ to monitor new filings by competitors, ensuring the company stays updated on new developments.
PROJECT OBSTACLES
Key Insights
Existing Framework
In addition to implementing the new design system and visual facelift, we found many opportunities to improve the outdated workflows to enhance the user experience. However, we have to work around the existing backend framework of the application without developers having to uproot previous code.
Error States
Designing a single modal dialogue comes with a number of variations and error states. Some may be due to user error, but some are limitations of our product. We work with the developers to ensure all alerts, pop-ups, and error messages for every scenario are considered and accounted for.
Project Scope
Tackling a whole redesign of a major product in a limited time requires disciplined scope management. As designers, we want to resolve every problem we find, which can often drive scope creep. We have to work closely with the development team to establish a balance and ensure all deadlines are met.
INITIAL DESIGNS & ITERATIONS
Design Direction
Landing Page
As the user’s first interaction with the platform, the landing page needs to offer quick access to essential features to all of our users, primarily the Discover Search, Search History, Search Editor. At the same time, it needs to have limited features presented to avoid overwhelming users.
Discover Search
Discover Search needs to quickly and efficiently bring forth documents and information, however, the hierarchy of the results determines the efficiency of the workflow. Prioritizing certain key information is vital to user experience.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS
Bluejay Framework
To maintain a cohesive design language and efficient development process, we implemented our design system, Bluejay, into InnovationQ, building every feature using its component library.
FINAL KEY FEATURES
1. Discover Search
Users explores patents, technologies, and non-patent literature with the Discover Search, however, each user might be different use cases for the results they get, which is why the new design features a modular approach to better suit each user’s needs.
Custom Layout
Users are able to customize the layout of the discover page to better suit their specific research or analysis needs. Different use cases require a different hierarchies of information, so users can personalize the layout to prioritize their data.
2. Search History
Search History is used to track and revisit previous searches, ensuring continuity in research, easy access to past results, and efficient management of ongoing projects. The Add Marker feature is for users to bookmark specific point of their search process for either tracking or billing purposes..
3. Manage Portfolio
Portfolio helps users organize, track, and analyze collections of patents and documents. It’s a necessary tool to enable efficient management of intellectual property and competitive intelligence projects.
4. Export to Excel
Not only can users browse through the search results, they can export the results in a customizable Excel spreadsheet, either with a Template or Advanced Selection, which allows users to include only wanted attributes.
REFLECTIONS
What I learned
Developer collaboration
Working on an existing product and code framework with limited time and resources, I learned that communicating with the developement team closely is crucial to the process. Establishing a mutual understanding of how our designs will impact the application, either positively or negatively, is paramount to the success of the product delivery.
Scope management
When it comes to redesigning a product, it’s important to understand the requirements and scope of the project. It is very easy for designers to uproot everything and replace it with the “new and better” design. Working within limitations, we should challenge our creativity for viable solutions within the scope of the project to ensure its success.