Bronto Designs

I interviewed with Bronto Software and as part of the final steps in the interview process, I was given an open ended design assignment to complete. The assignment was to create a dashboard and messaging page for an internal Service and Support application. The overall style of the pages were influenced by research I did on Bronto's current software offerings. The color palatte used in my designs was inherited from other Bronto apps. Certain metaphors such as the "plus" icon and the "x" icon when creating and canceling a project were inherited from other Bronto apps. Given the small amount of allotted time, the concepts below are what I would consider a "first pass" - they have been unaltered from what I submitted during the interview process.

The Dashboard Tab was considered the landing page for the service app. It provided a notification counter, the ability to search projects, and a overall view of projects in progress. The project cards were used to give at-a-glance information such as tasks, notifications, and alerts for current projects. Navigation for the app follows a standard left-hand tabbed interface with a subtle layering and coloring effect that distinguishes the active tab from the inactive tabs. The user's name is provided at the top right of the page - this name is a dropdown allowing the user to access settings and the ability to logout.

The Messages Tab is used for conversing with clients and other members of a particular project. It allows attachments and documents to be sent between users. When sending a message, names are pre-populated based on members in the respective project. I used a conversation-style messaging style with an inline reader/editor when creating this page. By using an inline editor, we're able to allow fast and cohesive context switching - coupling this with a smooth open/close animation delivers an enjoyable experience to the user. Messages that are new/unread appear in a bold font with a small blue indicator. Messages that have been read would appear in a standard font with not indicator.