CASE STUDY · SHUTTERSTOCK
Senior Product Designer @ Shutterstock
Senior Product Designer @ Shutterstock
Senior Product Designer @ Shutterstock
B2B Enterprise Design System & SaaS Experiences for the Global Leader in Stock Media
B2B Enterprise Design System & SaaS Experiences for the Global Leader in Stock Media
ROLE
Senior Product Designer
REPORTING TO
Director of Product Design
CONTEXT
Shutterstock Enterprise Catalog needed a modern curation workflow for high-stakes clients.
Shutterstock Enterprise Catalog needed a modern curation workflow for high-stakes clients.
CHALLENGE
The legacy interface overwhelmed users with excessive options and disjointed workflows.
The legacy interface overwhelmed users with excessive options and disjointed workflows.
USERS
Enterprise account managers, curators, creative teams, and media-sector clients.
Enterprise account managers, curators, creative teams, and media-sector clients.
OUTCOME
A modern AI-powered curation tool designed to accelerate discovery from days to hours.
A modern AI-powered curation tool designed to accelerate discovery from days to hours.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 · Project Overview
02 · Problem
03 · Enterprise User Needs
04 · Usability Issues
05 · Addressing AI Search
06 · Usability Testing
07 · User Interviews
08 · Thematic Analysis
09 · Feature Recommendations
10 · Conclusion
01 · PROJECT OVERVIEW
Streamlining content discovery for enterprise creative teams.
Streamlining content discovery for enterprise creative teams.
The core challenge was to streamline content discovery and curation for enterprise account managers serving high-stakes clients across entertainment, marketing, and media sectors. The legacy Shutterstock Enterprise Catalog platform’s cluttered interface, excessive options, and disjointed workflows frustrated users, slowing asset selection and integration into production pipelines.
The core challenge was to streamline content discovery and curation for enterprise account managers serving high-stakes clients across entertainment, marketing, and media sectors. The legacy Shutterstock Enterprise Catalog platform’s cluttered interface, excessive options, and disjointed workflows frustrated users, slowing asset selection and integration into production pipelines.
Enterprise Editorial Catalog
Curated
Cluttered legacy flow
Launch assets are hard to relocate
Editorial launch path
winter editorial launch package
Fewer
decision points
Clear
launch sets
Trust
in handoff
Legacy workflows slowed rapid creative review
Users lacked confidence in where curated assets lived, how collections were organized, and how to return to saved work without retracing steps.
Users lacked confidence in where curated assets lived, how collections were organized, and how to return to saved work without retracing steps.
Efficiency gains and client trust in scalable creative solutions depended on a modern workflow overhaul.
Efficiency gains and client trust in scalable creative solutions depended on a modern workflow overhaul.
02 · PROBLEM
Content buried under folders eroded efficiency for time-sensitive roles.
Content buried under folders eroded efficiency for time-sensitive roles.
Content buried under folders eroded efficiency for time-sensitive roles.
70%
of users did not know how to find saved assets during research.
of users did not know how to find saved assets during research.
Curators needed to deliver culturally resonant assets for global launches without losing time inside nested folders.
Curators needed to deliver culturally resonant assets for global launches without losing time inside nested folders.
The research clarified a need to restore trust and accelerate curation from days to hours.
The research clarified a need to restore trust and accelerate curation from days to hours.
03 · ENTERPRISE USER NEEDS
Real-time feedback became the quiet killer of momentum.
Iterative testing with enterprise curators revealed that redesigned upload mechanisms still tripped over legacy echoes: ambiguous progress indicators during bulk transfers and inconsistent feedback loops where dropped files vanished without a trace.
Real-time validation previews
Preempt errors before they create session-level uncertainty.
Contextual tooltips
Anticipate intent without overwhelming the interface.
Adaptive progression signals
Use motion to show clear progression through upload and review flows.
04 · USABILITY ISSUES
Small metadata gaps turned review into a scavenger hunt.
Small metadata gaps turned review into a scavenger hunt.
Usability testing exposed bottlenecks in the asset detail page, where incomplete descriptions, scattered keyword inputs, and opaque approval toggles forced users into a scavenger hunt for context. Mismatched client tags created compliance concerns and stalled approvals for time-sensitive launches.
Usability testing exposed bottlenecks in the asset detail page, where incomplete descriptions, scattered keyword inputs, and opaque approval toggles forced users into a scavenger hunt for context. Mismatched client tags created compliance concerns and stalled approvals for time-sensitive launches.
05 · ADDRESSING AI SEARCH
Semantic search had to parse intent with surgical accuracy.
Semantic search had to parse intent with surgical accuracy.
By embedding semantic AI into Boolean queries—like “red AND cars NOT balloons”—the tool could surface hyper-relevant results from millions without exhaustive manual sifting. Dynamic filters for image types, people exclusion, and editorial safeguards refined outputs in real time for brand-compliant curation.
By embedding semantic AI into Boolean queries—like “red AND cars NOT balloons”—the tool could surface hyper-relevant results from millions without exhaustive manual sifting. Dynamic filters for image types, people exclusion, and editorial safeguards refined outputs in real time for brand-compliant curation.
06 · USABILITY TESTING
Research grounded the redesign in real Jobs-To-Be-Done.
Research grounded the redesign in real Jobs-To-Be-Done.
Research grounded the redesign in real Jobs-To-Be-Done.
60-minute moderated sessions
UserZoom studies immersed participants in real scenarios like sourcing assets for eCommerce campaigns and enterprise media briefs.
UserZoom studies immersed participants in real scenarios like sourcing assets for eCommerce campaigns and enterprise media briefs.
Live platform walkthroughs
Participants received secure logins and moved from initial login to collection builds while the team captured unfiltered behavior.
Participants received secure logins and moved from initial login to collection builds while the team captured unfiltered behavior.
Raw friction points
The study revealed overlooked navigation and asset-management breakdowns inside the legacy SaaS.
The study revealed overlooked navigation and asset-management breakdowns inside the legacy SaaS.
07 · USER INTERVIEWS
Remote interviews exposed how collection builds really unfolded.
Remote interviews exposed how collection builds really unfolded.
The sessions captured unfiltered interactions from login to collection building, revealing the raw friction points in navigation and asset management that the legacy SaaS had long overlooked.
The sessions captured unfiltered interactions from login to collection building, revealing the raw friction points in navigation and asset management that the legacy SaaS had long overlooked.
Navigation refinements were tested against unlabeled mental models.
Navigation refinements were tested against unlabeled mental models.
Tree tests presented unlabeled site maps to gauge intuitive paths for queries like “check saved images” or “find trending content,” measuring success rates, first-click accuracy, and backtracking errors. A/B tests compared the legacy structure with optimized paths, tracking completion times, error rates, and qualitative think-aloud feedback.
Tree tests presented unlabeled site maps to gauge intuitive paths for queries like “check saved images” or “find trending content,” measuring success rates, first-click accuracy, and backtracking errors. A/B tests compared the legacy structure with optimized paths, tracking completion times, error rates, and qualitative think-aloud feedback.
08 · THEMATIC ANALYSIS
Themes turned scattered pain points into actionable patterns.
Themes turned scattered pain points into actionable patterns.
I used affinity diagramming after sessions, grouping raw observations, quotes, and pain points into emergent subthemes through collaborative workshops with the design team. Clusters around navigation confusion, repeated collection creation, and the need for visual recency cues revealed the patterns that shaped the recommendation set.
I used affinity diagramming after sessions, grouping raw observations, quotes, and pain points into emergent subthemes through collaborative workshops with the design team. Clusters around navigation confusion, repeated collection creation, and the need for visual recency cues revealed the patterns that shaped the recommendation set.
09 · FEATURE RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations were tied directly to observed behavior.
The synthesis process refined recommendations by turning user pain points into prioritized directives: sort by recency instead of alphabetically, show the latest saved image on holding cards, and add stronger visual hinting to reduce cognitive load.
Recommendations were tied directly to observed behavior.
The synthesis process refined recommendations by turning user pain points into prioritized directives: sort by recency instead of alphabetically, show the latest saved image on holding cards, and add stronger visual hinting to reduce cognitive load.
Sort by recency
Surface recently updated department collections first, matching how users actually return to work.
Latest saved image previews
Use visual scanning instead of name recall to help users recognize where their assets live.
Drag-and-drop asset moves
Reduce repeated collection creation and clarify movement between personal and shared spaces.
10 · CONCLUSION
The post-save experience became the highest-impact opportunity.
The post-save experience became the highest-impact opportunity.
The usability study exposed critical gaps in the post-save experience despite strong onboarding: while 75% of participants successfully saved new images, 100% failed to locate those saved items. Sharing collections proved equally challenging, with only 33% success in Scenario 2. These findings underscored persistent bottlenecks in discoverability, recency signaling, and collaborative workflows.
The usability study exposed critical gaps in the post-save experience despite strong onboarding: while 75% of participants successfully saved new images, 100% failed to locate those saved items. Sharing collections proved equally challenging, with only 33% success in Scenario 2. These findings underscored persistent bottlenecks in discoverability, recency signaling, and collaborative workflows.
FUTURE ITERATION TESTS
A/B tests can lift task success above 80%.
A/B tests can lift task success above 80%.
Prioritizing high-impact interventions—prominent visual recency cues, streamlined drag-and-drop sharing, and redesigned collection views—creates a clear path toward a more competitive, Canva-like creative hub for individual creators and enterprise-scale adoption.
Prioritizing high-impact interventions—prominent visual recency cues, streamlined drag-and-drop sharing, and redesigned collection views—creates a clear path toward a more competitive, Canva-like creative hub for individual creators and enterprise-scale adoption.
