Seafare Project
Year
2023
Company
Seafare
Role
Lead Designer
Type
Case Study
Contribution
Design Direction
User Research
User Experience
Introduction
In 2023, while at Klimt and Design Agency, I led my first design project creating Seafare’s debut landing page — a digital payroll platform built to serve maritime workers who still depended on manual payment systems. Seafare is the first payroll platform built specifically for the 1.89 million maritime workers who still depend on manual payroll systems.
The client needed a clear, trustworthy, and mobile-first site to introduce their product and drive demo sign-ups. Leading a small cross-functional team, I was responsible for shaping the brand identity and defining a design process that balanced usability, clarity, and credibility for an audience new to digital payroll tools.
Challenge
“How can we design a landing page that communicates trust and clarity while appealing to maritime workers with limited familiarity with digital tools?”
This project came with several challenges beyond design. Because Seafare’s audience was cautious about adopting new technology, many had limited internet access, and the team had just six weeks to deliver the company’s first-ever branded experience. With no established visual identity or prior UX framework, our goal was to create something that felt trustworthy, lightweight, and ready to represent the brand’s launch to the market.
Key Goals
Increase demo sign-ups (target: 5–15% conversion)
Achieve a 10–20% click-through rate on CTAs
Maintain bounce rates under 50%
Ensure users describe the site as “approachable” and “easy to understand”
Research
To better understand the needs of maritime workers, I conducted surveys and interviews with 20 participants provided by Seafare’s internal database. Using Google Surveys and remote Zoom sessions, I explored how they currently receive payroll, what frustrations they face, their preferred devices, and their level of trust in digital systems.
The research uncovered that most maritime workers relied on mobile devices for payroll access, often facing slow load times and limited network availability. Many expressed frustration with delayed payments and a lack of trust in existing digital systems, highlighting the need for a clear, fast, and dependable user experience.
80%
Used mobile devices to check payroll
60%
Experienced delays when receiving pay
30%
Satisfied with their current payroll provider
Branding
Seafare’s founder described the brand’s tone as “competent, hard-working, rational, concise—still a fun company to be around. You’d want to grab a drink with them, but you know they wouldn’t have more than two because they’ve got work tomorrow.” This became the foundation for the design direction: trustworthy and grounded, yet approachable and professional.
Logo
Since Seafare had no prior identity, I designed a scalable manatee logo that could work across both digital and print applications. The logo’s simplicity allowed it to serve as a watermark or app icon while still evoking the ocean and approachability through soft geometry and open spacing.
Typography
The modern geometric sans-serif typeface, Muota, was chosen for its clarity and versatility across screens. Its clean forms and balanced proportions gave Seafare a confident yet approachable tone that matched the brand’s straightforward nature.
Color
The palette centered on teal to differentiate Seafare from competitors that heavily relied on blue, while still evoking the ocean’s sense of trust and calm. Warm sunrise tones balanced the teal, adding optimism and approachability to a visual system that felt distinct yet familiar to maritime users.
Wireframing
During the wireframing stage, mobile usability became the main focus. Research showed that most maritime workers accessed payroll from their phones while on ships, often in areas with weak connectivity. Because of this, we aimed for a single-page scroll layout to keep load times fast and key information within easy reach.
I used an 8-point linear scale to maintain consistent spacing and hierarchy across devices, which made adapting from desktop to mobile seamless. Each section was also designed for visibility in low-light environments, ensuring maritime workers could comfortably read and navigate the interface while on the job.
User testing
I conducted remote usability testing with ten participants to evaluate clarity, navigation, and trust perception across the landing page. Two key tests stood out: a five-second recall test and a task-based navigation test. The recall test measured how quickly users understood Seafare’s purpose from the hero section, while the navigation test examined how easily they could locate the cancellation policy within the site.
The insights led to several refinements in both layout and messaging. Notably, I added a simplified product mockup to the hero image to help users immediately understand what Seafare offers, and moved the FAQ from the footer to its own section above it. This adjustment not only improved accessibility but also reduced the need for an additional page, helping the site load faster and supporting the overall goal of performance and clarity.
Results & Response
Test:
Five-Second Recall Test
Results:
60% correctly identified Seafare as a payroll platform
Response:
Added simplified product mockups to the hero image to clarify purpose
Test:
Navigation Test
Results:
40% found the cancellation policy without guidance
Response:
Moved FAQ from the footer and placed it above in its own section
Slide to Reveal
Results
The initial metrics collected within the first few weeks of launch showed that the landing page exceeded the goals we set at the start of the project. Not only did it meet the quantitative targets, it also created a more approachable and trustworthy experience for users. The design introduced Seafare’s first true identity — something that felt simple, dependable, and made for the people using it. It stood apart from the typical corporate look of payroll platforms while remaining familiar and grounded, giving Seafare a strong foundation to grow and a design language they could build their future products on.
27%
Demo sign-ups
36%
Bounce rates
100%
Client satisfaction
Reflection
This project taught me a lot about leading with clarity and staying adaptable. It was my first time managing a full design process from start to finish, and balancing creative direction with tight deadlines pushed me to grow fast. I learned that good design isn’t just about how something looks — it’s about building trust through small, thoughtful decisions that make people feel understood. Seafare reminded me why I love this work: turning something complicated into something that just makes sense.
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