User experience (UX) is far more than visuals on a website; it’s at the heart of every platform. And as demonstrated by this year’s UX Design of the Year finalists at the GeekWire Awards, a great user experience can go a long way to delighting customers.
The UX Design category, presented by Blink, is in its third year. Previous winners were Joon Care and Skilljar.
Nominees were asked to describe their design and research process, and how their product benefits the end user. We’ve included descriptions of each company and comments from judges for this category bellow.
The GeekWire Awards recognize the top innovators and companies in Pacific Northwest technology. Finalists in this category and others were selected based on community nominations, along with input from GeekWire Awards judges. Community voting across all categories will continue until April 22, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.
We'll announce the winners on May 12 at the GeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. Contact events@geekwire.com for more information.
You can vote for your picks across all categories in the GeekWire Awards ballot below, and read on to learn more about the finalists for UX Design of the Year.
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What they do: Founded in 2012, Crelate sells software to staffing and recruiting agencies to help manage talent and business opportunities. The startup raised $5 million earlier this year.
Judge comments: “Intuitive and simple solution that is clearly built for (and with serious input from) recruiting teams. The design is straight-forward; the interactions and experience are focused on efficiency. We really enjoyed the fresh look at HR systems and specifically the bulk actions features.”
Related coverage: PairTree, RightBound, LOANtuitive, Crelate raise fresh cash
What they do: Genba is a Seattle startup that helps maintenance teams complete work in the field and capture knowledge via voice recognition that is trained on a company’s specific vocabulary. It spun out of a Seattle startup innovation studio run by Pioneer Square Labs and publicly-traded industrial giant Fortive, which invested in a seed round for Genba.
Judge comments: “Unique and targeted product offering focused on voice-based experiences that are highly targeted and specific to the technicians’ area of focus. We really enjoyed the touchless focus of the app and the detail that is going into the voice-based experience.”
Related coverage: Genba, the latest spinout from PSL-Fortive studio, raises cash for industrial work voice app
What they do: Founded in 2018, Humanly is a Seattle HR startup that helps companies screen job candidates, schedule interviews, automate initial communication, run reference checks, and more.
Judge comments: “We enjoyed the grassroots human-centered design effort that the team put into this app — the founders conducting their own research in the field. We were impressed with their focus on diversity and this was apparent in several areas and features of the platform.”
Related coverage: Seattle HR startup Humanly lands $4.2M to help companies automate parts of the interview process
What they do: SecureSave is a Seattle-based startup that helps employers offer a financial wellness benefit to workers beyond their paycheck in the form of an emergency savings account (ESA). It raised $3.5 million last year.
Judge comments: “Product UX is simple and easy to use and designed with trust in mind. The data visualization and simplicity of interaction caught our attention and is consistent throughout the application.”
Related coverage: Seattle-area fintech startup Secure reveals secret: Suze Orman is part of the founding team
A big thanks to Astound Business Solutions, the presenting sponsor of the 2022 GeekWire Awards.
Also, thanks to gold-level and category sponsors: Wilson Sonsini, ALLtech, JLL, DreamBox Learning, Blink UX, BECU, Baird, Fuel Talent, RSM, Aon, Meridian Capital, and WTIA. And thanks to silver level sponsors: J.P. Morgan Chase, Material+, and Tomo.
If interested in sponsoring a category or purchasing a table sponsorship for the event, contact us at events@geekwire.com.
