Overview
For internal content operation members who need to onboard a lot of new content for the launch of INKR Comics app, INKR CMS is a content management system that is functional, reliable, and robust.
Unlike our previous attempt INKR Backstage, INKR CMS is purposefully designed for internal people who need to use it on a daily basis, in the way that it’s super straightforward, no-frills, and without unnecessary hand-holding.
I led a team of three designers to work on the conceptualization and design execution of the first version of INKR CMS.
My Contribution
Concepts & Ideation
Information Architecture
Enterprise UI/UX Design
Team
3 designers
2 product managers
6 engineers
Year
2020
Recap
Early 2020, we were in urgent need of launching the INKR Comics app. Following the official closure of Manga Rock in September 2019, our users were starting to forget about us if we did not release something else soon enough. In order to launch the INKR Comics app, we needed the legit content to be hosted somewhere safe. Originally, we had thought of using INKR Backstage as the official CMS for INKR Comics, however, it proved to be too ineffective for that kind of rapid and continuous usage.
Therefore, I was tasked with leading a team of 3 enterprise designers to come up with a new solution called INKR CMS – a more straightforward CMS that would not try to simplify things, purposely designed for internal employees, who needed to use it on a daily basis.
Also, due to personnel shortage, we simply could not afford to maintain a custom in-house design system based on Material Design anymore, which was starting to show significant wear and tear due to years of adding new things to it. Therefore, we decided to turn to Ant Design, an open-sourced design system that proved to be more robust and reliable, thus freeing us from the cost of maintaining one ourselves.
Design-wise, the new INKR CMS was intended to be functional, reliable, robust, and no-frills. After several rounds of research, ideation, and discussion, we executed the design in Figma, with Ant Design as the design system.
After several months of implementation, the alpha version was released to internal team members to use for stocking up the catalog in preparation for the launch of the INKR Comics app. The reception from the internal team was much better than that of INKR Backstage. INKR Comics was launched in September 2020, with a sizable catalog of 500 titles.