The product
The V2 Desk (now discontinued) is UPLIFT Desks' flagship product. All UPLIFT desks consist of a frame of choice and a desktop. UPLIFT desks are highly customizable and customers can choose from a variety of frames and laminate or wood desktops ranging from 30" to 80" inches wide and 1" to 2.75" inches tall.
Shown is the V3 desk, an updated version of the V2 desk (now discontinued)
The project
For this project, the owner of UPLIFT Desk asked me to create a user-friendly version of the 20-page V2 Standing Desk instructions manual for customers who prefer simple and straightforward instructions instead of lengthy and redundant manuals.
The reason? Long and verbose manuals can discourage and intimidate customers instead of easing them into the excitement of physically assembling and enjoying their new UPLIFT Desk product.
The owner wanted something "quick" in every sense of the word and it had to include all the main details of the assembly process. Thankfully, the engineering team suggested an 11x17 front and back manual and to see if it would work, I simply created a quick mockup leaving only the most important steps of the assembly process. I arranged it and laid it out in a simple grid pattern all while making sure I was taking into consideration the most important details of the assembly process. I showed my manager and with some modifications to the layout and grid I created a second draft which then became the final layout. The turn around time was about a week of laying out all information and cleaning up the line art. Then, another week of reviews and modifications all while simultaneously juggling other projects.
The result
The end result is a 2-page, front and back 11x17 Quick Start Guide which includes the most valuable steps and information of the assembly process for the V2 "C" frame. A separate "Quick Start Guide" was made for the V2 "T" frame.
The owner was thoroughly impressed at the drastic reduction of the 20-page V2 Standing Desk manual and this became one of my favorite projects because it involved quick thinking, problem-solving and proper time management.
Below are the original and quick start guide manuals for quick comparison.
Original 20-page V2 Standing Desk Manual
InDesign file showing all 20 pages
Original V2 Desk manual
Detailed steps shown in original V2 desk manual
New 2-Page V2 Standing Desk Manual
Front and back of the new "Quick Start Guide"
