In Marc’s recent article about the changes brewing at Saasu, he talked about preparation for the new user interface changes. Part of my role as Chief Design Officer at Saasu is to help develop our brand and visual identity, which feeds directly into the new user interface changes.
I thought it might be of interest to share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past few months in this regard.
One of the best bits of my job is being able to speak to people as part of design research. So, very high on the list when I started at Saasu was to speak to the team here about what inspires them and what kept them coming back to Saasu each day. I felt it was really important to get a sense of what made the “Saasuvians” tick so that we could make sure that this personality, and the things that we really valued, were reflected in how we communicated. Just as importantly I wanted to understand what the extended Saasuvian clan—our customers and partners—valued about working with Saasu. So we conducted a series of interviews exploring their passions and goals.
It was a really inspiring experience, especially so early in my time here. I discovered that I was working with and supporting people with big hearts and aspirations, and a authenticity that is very rare in my view. When I attended the Saasu conference earlier in the year I was blown away by the passion that our customers demonstrated for what we do. Some really striking stories were told, both on and off the stage (which played a big part in me taking on the role at Saasu). These stories were reinforced by the interviews I conducted.
While we’re still in the early days of the journey, there are a few strong themes that have already started to coalesce:
People: Businesses are built on relationships. While we use technology as our means/method, our interest is in making life better for people. Our customers appreciate the genuine interest we take in their needs, and how that’s reflected in our approach to both doing business and our product.
Potential: We love the “eyes light up” moment when we see our customers do things they didn’t think were possible as a result of our work. We are inspired by the spirit of small business owners and want to help them achieve all that they can—many of them share our pioneering spirit and quest for meaningful work.
Productivity: You’ve heard us say it often—you are what you don’t automate (Marc’s recent ATSA presentation has more on this idea). That is, the more you can get your systems working for you, the more time you have to spend on the meaningful things. The value of this aspect of Saasu was highlighted in our customer and partner interviews, and is reflected in our focus internally.
This has inspired us to make Saasu even more of a place where these things come together.
As part of our process, we’ve started collaborating with the team at Studio Sammut (another local business with big hearts and aspirations) to translate these shared values into visual form—redefining our brand to to better reflect our collective personality and to provide greater focus on what our customers, partners, and our broader community, value. We’ll be sure to share with you more about the process and our learnings along the way over the coming weeks.