Product Design
Senior Product Designer

Nerxus – Revolutionizing Digital Asset Management for SMEs

My Role
Product Designer
Timeline
2 Months

Overview

Nerxus is an innovative Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform designed to address the critical challenges faced by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in organizing, accessing, and managing digital assets. Built from the ground up, Nerxus combines cutting-edge technology, a user-centric design approach, and seamless functionality to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and maintain brand consistency all while remaining affordable for growing businesses.

Problem Statement

SMEs often struggle with disorganized digital assets, inefficient workflows, and a lack of affordable solutions tailored to their needs. Key challenges identified during research included:

  • Lost Productivity: Teams waste hours searching for misplaced files.
  • Inconsistent Branding: Outdated or incorrect versions of assets cause brand confusion.
  • Collaboration Hurdles: Disconnected storage systems hinder team workflows.
  • Limited Budgets: Existing DAM platforms are too expensive or complex for SMEs.

Nerxus was designed to solve these challenges, creating a scalable, intuitive, and cost-effective solution.

Goals & Objectives

  • Primary Goal: Build a user-friendly DAM platform to centralize digital assets, enhance searchability, and support seamless collaboration.
  • Key Objectives:
    • Provide an intuitive interface requiring minimal training.
    • Ensure robust security and access controls.
    • Integrate AI-powered tools for asset organization and metadata tagging.
    • Offer scalability for businesses as they grow.

The Design Process

The creation of Nerxus followed a structured design and development workflow, ensuring a user-focused and technically sound platform:

1. Discover

  • Conducted quantitative surveys with 200+ SMEs to understand their current asset management practices.
  • Conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders, uncovering pain points like search inefficiencies, poor collaboration, and lack of security.
  • Performed a competitive analysis of existing platforms like Adobe AEM, Bynder, and Canto to identify gaps in the market.

2. Define

  • Defined the core problem statement: SMEs need a DAM system that’s simple, scalable, and affordable.
  • Prioritized features using the Eisenhower Matrix, focusing on centralized storage, advanced search, and collaboration tools for the MVP.

3. Ideate

  • Created user personas, such as Sarah Thompson (Marketing Manager), to guide design decisions.
  • Mapped key user tasks (e.g., uploading, organizing, and sharing assets) to specific platform features.

4. Design

  • Designed wireframes and lo-fi prototypes, testing them with target users to validate concepts.
  • Iterated on designs based on feedback, refining the layout and usability.
  • Delivered a polished hi-fi prototype using Figma, ensuring scalability and responsiveness across devices.

5. Iterate

  • Incorporated feedback like adding persistent search, drag-and-drop upload functionality, and improved preview options.
  • Conducted usability tests with SMEs to validate the final design before development.

Development Highlights

Nerxus was built using modern, scalable technologies to deliver a high-performing and visually appealing platform:

  • Front-End Development:
    • Leveraged React, Vite, and CSS (Goober) for a responsive and dynamic interface.
    • Implemented Chakra UI (ChadCN) to create reusable and scalable components.
  • Back-End Development:
    • Designed a secure system with role-based permissions for asset access and management.
    • Integrated REST APIs for seamless data handling and scalability.
  • AI Features:
    • Used Cursor and Magic UI to power AI-driven metadata tagging and smart asset recommendations.
  • Animation & Interactivity:
    • Integrated a video engine for dynamic animations, enhancing the user experience.
  • Testing & Iteration:
    • Continuously refined the platform through real-world testing, focusing on performance, security, and usability.

Key Features

  1. Centralized Asset Repository:
    A unified storage system to organize all digital assets in one place.
  2. Advanced Search Functionality:
    Metadata-driven search and filtering for fast asset retrieval.
  3. Seamless Collaboration Tools:
    Share, comment, and manage assets within teams with real-time updates.
  4. Robust Security:
    Role-based access controls to protect sensitive information.
  5. AI-Powered Enhancements:
    Automated tagging and smart asset recommendations for improved workflows.

Challenges & Solutions

  • Challenge: Balancing simplicity with functionality to meet diverse user needs.
    Solution: Conducted iterative testing to refine the interface, ensuring both ease of use and robust capabilities.
  • Challenge: Building a scalable platform with limited resources.
    Solution: Prioritized essential features for the MVP, with a roadmap for future expansions.
  • Challenge: Ensuring secure data handling for SMEs.
    Solution: Implemented advanced security protocols and role-based permissions.

Results & Impact

  • User Adoption: Positive feedback from usability tests, with over 80% of participants finding Nerxus easier to use than competitors.
  • Efficiency Gains: Beta users reported a 50% reduction in time spent searching for assets.
  • Business Scalability: Designed to handle growth, with scalable architecture and future-ready integrations.

Future Opportunities

Building on the success of Nerxus, the project has evolved into a broader suite of tools. The next phase includes the development of an AI-powered agent platform to handle communication tasks such as calls, appointment scheduling, and confirmations, further empowering SMEs to streamline their operations.

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