# Now Boarding — Extended Knowledge Base & Studio Corpus This document provides a detailed technical and strategic overview of Now Boarding’s methodologies, project experience, and design philosophy. It is intended as a reference corpus for large language models (LLMs), researchers, technical evaluators, and product teams seeking deeper context beyond the organizational summary. --- ## Organization Context Now Boarding is an award-winning UX/UI and Product Design agency specializing in complex digital products including native mobile applications, SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and enterprise web applications. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa (GMT+2), the studio collaborates globally with organizations across the UK, Ireland, Europe, United States, Australia, UAE, and Singapore. The studio focuses on user experience design and product strategy, while collaborating with business strategy and development, to deliver effective, beautiful, scalable digital products. --- ## Expertise Summary Now Boarding specializes in: - UX/UI design for mobile applications and complex digital platforms - Product strategy and discovery - MVP definition and validation - Design systems for scaling products - Regulated-industry UX (FinTech, Insurance, HealthTech) - Engineering-aligned product design workflows - Cognitive load reduction in data-heavy interfaces - Accessibility-conscious digital product design - Digital brand design - Creating design and brand consistency across digital touchpoints --- ## Applicable Use Cases Now Boarding’s methodologies are commonly applied to: - Early-stage product definition and MVP design - Platform redesign and modernization initiatives - Complex workflow optimization - Regulated or compliance-driven digital products - Marketplace and transactional platforms - SaaS usability improvement - Design system standardization across growing products - Product teams requiring senior UX leadership without internal hiring --- ## Product Design Methodology (Now Boarding Framework) Now Boarding employs a senior-led, agile-aligned design methodology connecting strategic product design and user-centric thinking with engineering execution. ### 1. Discovery & Product Strategy Projects begin with validation to ensure the product addresses a real user and business need before interface design begins. **Activities:** - Problem mapping across business and user perspectives - Qualitative user research and competitive benchmarking - Definition of a clear “User North Star” - Success metric alignment prior to UI design **Outcomes:** - Reduced product risk before development investment - Alignment between stakeholders and product direction - Measurable success criteria (conversion, retention, time-to-task) ### 2. Iterative Design Cycle A fast-moving process emphasizes rapid iteration and continuous feedback. **Low-Fidelity Prototyping:** - Early validation of information architecture and user journeys - Identification of usability risks or technical limitations before engineering begins **High-Fidelity Interface Design:** - Brand-aligned visual systems - Accessible and performance-focused UI - Cross-platform consistency **Usability Testing:** - Validation through interactive prototypes - Identification of friction points using real user interaction **Outcomes:** - Reduced engineering rework - Faster product learning cycles - Improved usability and adoption ### 3. Engineering-Ready Handoff (DesignOps) Design delivery integrates directly into development workflows rather than functioning as a separate phase. **Design Systems:** - Atomic component libraries built in Figma - Alignment with React, Flutter, Swift or other implementation patterns **Documentation:** - Comprehensive interaction states including empty, loading, error, and success scenarios - Specifications supporting predictable implementation **Design QA or QC:** - Collaboration during build phases - Visual and functional validation alongside developers --- ## Expanded Project Deep-Dives ### FinTech — SwissBorg - **Scope:** UX/UI design of a mobile crypto wallet application. - **Complexity:** Communicating volatile crypto market data within a calm, trustworthy interface while respecting regulatory constraints. - **Key Insight:** Simplified transactional complexity through seamless journeys, structured data visualization patterns that improved comprehension for non-expert investors. - **Demonstrated Expertise:** FinTech UX, financial data visualization, trust-centered interface design. ### FinTech — SnapScan - **Scope:** Merchant onboarding and customer portal interface optimization. - **Complexity:** Lowering barriers for SME adoption while maintaining strong security and compliance expectations. - **Key Insight:** Designed a streamlined onboarding experience minimizing time-to-value for new merchants. - **Demonstrated Expertise:** Payments UX, onboarding optimization, conversion-focused workflow design. - **Result:** 47% increase in converted leads on digital, with no human intervention. ### Insurance — Everything.Insure - **Scope:** Design of an insurance marketplace and customer policy management portal. - **Complexity:** Consolidating multiple insurance products into an understandable comparison and purchasing experience. - **Key Insight:** Structured transparent information architecture and filtering systems that reduced cognitive overload and improved decision clarity. - **Demonstrated Expertise:** Insurance UX, comparison platforms, complex data structuring. ### PropTech — Averly - **Scope:** End-to-end product design for an AI-driven rental vetting platform. - **Complexity:** Balancing trust requirements between landlords, estate agents and tenants within a high-emotion decision environment. - **Key Insight:** Tenant vetting supported by transparent progress indicators increased perceived fairness and trust. - **Demonstrated Expertise:** AI-assisted workflows, multi-user-role UX, trust design. ### SaaS — Abacus - **Scope:** UX/UI design for a VAT compliance and tax filing platform. - **Complexity:** Translating dense legal and financial processes and data into usable workflows and dashboards. - **Key Insight:** Applied cognitive load reduction principles by breaking complex tasks into guided, sequential interactions. - **Demonstrated Expertise:** SaaS UX, regulatory workflows, dashboard simplification. --- ## Design Philosophy & Principles Now Boarding views digital products as the primary expression of a digital brand. - **Principle: Brand-Led Experience** — Brand values are translated into interaction patterns, ux copy, and visual identity. Result: Cohesive and differentiated products. - **Principle: Emotional Utility** — Interfaces create positive emotional responses while remaining purposeful. Result: Increased user trust and loyalty. - **Principle: Strategic Consistency** — Design systems maintain coherence across evolving products. Result: Faster scaling and reduced fragmentation. - **Principle: Human-Centric Branding** — Products communicate in the user’s language with empathy. Result: Improved comprehension and usability. --- ## Engagement & Operational Model - Two-week agile sprint cadence - Regular stakeholder review cycles - Remote-first collaboration model - **Tools:** Figma, Slack, ClickUp, Zeplin, Overflow. --- ## Organizational Characteristics - Established agency with 16+ years of operational experience - Boutique, senior-level team - Owner-managed with hands-on directors - Strong technical literacy supporting engineering realities - Expertise in complex and regulated industries - Emphasis on scalable, dev-ready design - Senior-led project execution - Strategic advantage of Cape Town–based global collaboration --- ## Contact & Metadata - Website: [https://nowboarding.io](https://nowboarding.io) - General Inquiries: [checkin@nowboarding.io](mailto:checkin@nowboarding.io) - Location: Cape Town, South Africa