Illustrating Watson Discovery
project overview
As a UX designer, I don’t usually get to work on illustrations, but this opportunity arose and I was excited to practice those skills. The ask was to make a new diagram for the product documentation page, to give a structural overview of how Watson Discovery works.
Duration
2 weeks
Role
Visual designer
Visual designer, Product managera
Collaborators
the problem
The original illustration was inaccurate and visually confusing, as well as inconsistent across the various places it was used.
The goal to make it more dynamic, and a better representation of the product flow.
Original illustration
sketches
Part of IBM’s branding includes isometric illustrations, so knowing that this had the potential to be included in marketing material, I wanted to stick with that pattern.
My main idea was to use isometric squares as “stepping stones” or “layers" with the information sitting on them. So, I started out with a few rough sketches
Stepping stones
Layers
first iteration
I moved forward with the “stepping stone” style, and implemented feedback to make it more linear. However, I went a little too crazy with the color palette, and my treatment of the text made it pretty hard to read.
second iteration
For my second iteration, I went for a more limited palette, fixed the text, and tested out some different orientations.
final iteration
Finally, I rearranged the branches of the diagram to be more accurate to the flow of the product, and did some final rearranging of the text. I created the necessary deliverables, and off it went!
This illustration is still in use today, where it lives in the product documentation as well as a variety of marketing materials and presentations.