Sideline
Launching a New Brand, Same Product
Sideline was a riff on our existing app, Textfree, that let users send text messages and phone calls via wi-fi. This was especially popular among teenagers equipped with nothing more than an iPod Touch and allowed them to text on the wi-fi enabled grounds of their high-school. Sideline was adapted for a more adult demographic, and we envisioned a suite of business features built into a second phone number. Leveraging the user’s existing cellular plan, the second number provided a way to help entrepreneurs separate their business and personal lives while still using the same device.
Early testing of a barebones branded product proved successful. The go-ahead to develop a cohesive and professional looking application was given, and I worked to implement the new design for the Android platform.
Before and After of Key UI Screens for Sideline
30-Days
For better or worse, mostly worse, the new design was planned to coincide with a transition of Sideline to a paid subscription model as opposed to the freemium version we had utilized since forever. This meant charging users a monthly fee and removing advertisements and in-app purchases. The new design then, had to feel premium, and assert itself among business oriented users.
Redesigned Sideline Inbox
Romania
For this project, a majority of development was being completed in Romania. In order to accommodate for the drastic time zone differences, we established a nice cadence using a Confluence page to detail redlines and specs for the new designs. By 6:00 PM requirements would be finalized for the day and changes submitted to the page. The developers would start their day and wrap by 7:00 AM our time at which point I’d be on a call to review the implementation before they were off for the evening. Keep in mind this is pre-cloud services like Figma which have drastically improved the hand off process.
Excerpt from the Confluence UI Specifications Page
Redlines for Individual Messaging Elements
Conclusion
After the design update, and the transition to a paid product, we saw revenue increase despite the heavy losses of daily active users. The advantage of moving towards a subscription based service was an improved user experience that did not require accommodating advertisements or pushing paid features. There was a greater focus on the user, and extra motivation to provide a product worth it’s paid status.
Sideline logo construction