Tec-X: Turning Many Tools into a Streamlined Experience

Tech Solutions for Conferences

Biamp is a giant in the technology industry and they specialize in audiovisual solutions for conference centers and other large venues. A team of experienced audiovisual professionals saw a need for a simpler more intuitive way to manage complex electronics systems. So they produced Tec-X: a custom device that provides a wall panel with central access to all electronics.

Deliverables Personas Platforms

Prototypes Speakers iOS

Design Guidelines IT Admins Android

Guests

Too Many Stationary Devices 

IT admins had difficulty managing event calendars and network settings. Event speakers had their own problems. Tec-X is a control panel on the wall where speakers can walk up and manage various devices. However, this was a major inconvenience to walk over every time they wanted to change something.

This often led to a suboptimal experience for guests. While the wall system was well adopted and customizable, its location was a significant inconvenience, negatively impacting the guests’ experience and the speaker’s talk. The solution was providing a mobile user experience through an app.

With Designed by Cats creating the app’s interface, we accomplished their goal of creating an app that simplifies the experience for IT admins and speakers and offers an easy-to-use, intuitive interface that even non-technical staff could use. Of course, the question remains, how can something so complicated be effectively built for the average speaker to use?

Beauty in Simplicity

The answer is skeuomorphism* and simplicity. The mobile app was designed to mimic the existing, well-adopted experience of the Tec-x wall control, making it intuitive and easy for their users. The experience is consistent between the Tec-X wall panel and the app, no matter which customizable features were created by the IT admins. All without making speakers step away from the podium.

An important portion of this project was standardizing the design. We referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to provide the color contrast and legibility for a better UI design.

Increasing User Satisfaction

Here at Designed by Cats, our experts have the knowledge and experience trusted by leaders like Biamp to create a better user experience.

*Skeuomorphism is a graphic design style that mimics their real world counterparts. For example, a flashlight app would have a picture of a flashlight with a piece to slide up or over to turn it on. The app mirrors the physical setup of a conference center, so users can easily identify and control different systems.