Guten Tag.
Ralf Gehrig, freelance user experience consultant
for major brands and upcoming startups.
Vancouver, London, Frankfurt, Singapore
Isis Mobile Wallet
ISIS is a joint-venture of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the US to create a digital wallet. Users can pay by simply tapping their smartphone at the point of purchase. I helped to create the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps for Isis and performed usability testing. The project launched at SXSW 2012 on Android and is currently being rolled out on the other platforms.
SeeSaw
SeeSaw is a video website like the BBC iPlayer or Hulu where visitors can watch TV shows and films from many channels and studios, some for free with ads, and others as pay-per-view. I was involved from the start to define the user experience strategy and led a team of 4 creatives. We performed extensive user research and iterated the design until the final design achieved 94% approval rating in an online user panel of 1,500 consumers. We designed SeeSaw apps for Google TV, PS3, iPhone and iPad. Unfortunately, the company folded in 2012, being unable to make the necessary deals with movie studios.
Microsoft Teched
I designed the user experience for the mobile website for Microsoft’s TechEd conference, which was used by a record 75% of conference visitors before and during the conference. It allows attendees to create their own seminar schedule, network, and collect QR codes throughout the conference to compete for points.
Blackberry
Re-designed BlackBerries mobile websites with a strong focus on up-selling to existing BlackBerry customers. The goal was to create an experience that communicates the benefits of the latest BlackBerry range in relation to the user’s current phone. A challenge in the design was that it has to work especially well on older phones.
Singapore Airlines
My approach and user experience strategy helped SapientNitro to win the pitch and account for the global redesign. The key was to balance a spacious and visceral digital experience with a strong focus on conversions and up-sell sales. For example, I proposed to feature a promotion for a stopover in Singapore on the popular Europe-Australia routes. After winning the pitch, a local team in Singapore took over the design and development of the site.
John Lewis
John Lewis is the UK’s premier online department store. I consulted them on how to improve their conversion rate and average shopping cart value by introducing personalisation to their online store. Conceptualised an iPhone app which acts as a companion during in-store browsing. QR-code scanning and product comparison. The iPhone app was downloaded over 100k times with avg. 4-star ratings.
Universal Music
Universal Music had the vision to create an online destination for aficionados of Classical Music. A place that engages and stimulates the knowledgeable connoisseur and educates the novice about the music. I was leading the user experience track before moving to Canada.
Epson
Epson was looking for a new brand direction online, and a resolution of the channel conflict when they sell directly online. I was User Experience Lead of 7 creatives through research, design concept, spec’ing and build phases. I acted as primary client contact and subject matter expert, as well as lead IA. The Result: Conversion has gone up significantly, e.g. from 400% on the main ink purchase journey, Europe-wide rollout and even adoption by Epson USA.
The Sun
The Sun is the UK's most read paper and second most visited news site. I worked closely with the chief online editor and his staff to customize a content management solution to give them unprecedented flexibility for article layouts so the website closely resembles the printed tabloid. Results: After the redesign, the website continues to beat its own records, with weekly unique visitors reaching 8.8 million. Ad revenue is also up due to more and better placed banners.
Lufthansa Flight Training
While still studying, I was able to win a contract for Lufthansa Flight Training, together with two fellow students. Lufthansa Flight Training is responsible for the training of all pilots and crew members of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. We created a custom document management and print-on-demand system. It is still used today and holds 5,000+ documents which are collated by trainers for their trainings and workshops and then sent to the print studio for on-demand-printing.