Renowned for its top-tier embroidery software solutions, Wilcom caters to the requirements of professional digitizers, embroidery shops, educators, and hobbyists alike. With its flagship products, EmbroideryStudio, and Hatch Embroidery, Wilcom provides comprehensive solutions tailored to diverse demands. Nonetheless, these sophisticated tools have prerequisites—they must be installed on computers, involve a substantial financial investment, and demand training to unlock their extensive capabilities.

The project aimed to conceptualize WilcomWorkspace, a fresh product aimed at streamlining daily operations for embroidery businesses through various applications. The emphasis was on creating a user-friendly, contemporary solution accessible across all computing devices. Truesizer, previously named Studio, emerged as one of the initial applications within WilcomWorkspace, enabling users to effortlessly view, resize, and recolour embroidery designs directly via web browsers, eliminating the need for specialized software.

Project brief

Ideation kicked off with brainstorming a fresh suite of applications for WilcomWorkspace, coupled with on-site visits to embroidery businesses and engaging in user interviews. I created user personas to define the needs and goals.

Layout iterations for Truesizer

Since Truesizer represented an entirely fresh approach to the product, it was also an opportunity to establish newer design patterns that we could apply to the other applications in WilcomWorkspace.

The objective was to offer the product with three behaviors: a limited-feature trial, a trial expired mode, and a paid subscription, each tailored to distinct requirements and business objectives. I created prototypes showcasing all possible scenarios in Adobe XD and mapped userflows in Overflow.io

Through testing and multiple iterations, I developed an intuitive UI tailored for simple embroidery design edits. The aim was to maintain a minimalist approach. Users can easily revamp their embroidery designs with just a few clicks.

Of particular interest was the trial expired mode, a rarity in product offerings. Given the complexity of creating embroidery designs, many hobbyists and novices typically purchase or seek free file downloads. I designed a feature in WilcomWorkspace that lets users download free designs crafted by in-house digitizers, via Truesizer even after trial expiration, fostering continued user engagement with the app.

Trial expiry behavior on live site

'Thread collections' feature to group and store threads digitally

Embroidery businesses typically maintain a designated palette of thread colors or adhere to client-specified thread brands and shades. A digitiser must adhere to these preferences when adjusting colors in an embroidery design.

The 'Thread Collections' function was developed precisely for this purpose. It allows users to compile sets of threads based on client preferences, streamlining the process by eliminating the need to hunt for individual threads for each project.

One of the mockups showing how to change thread colors in a design

'Thread collections' feature

An important discovery during user visits was how users adjust colors in designs. While modifying colors in graphic images is straightforward, embroidery designs rely on specific thread colors listed in charts provided by manufacturers. Each thread color is associated with a unique code and name. It was noticed that digitizers typically spend substantial time searching for and substituting colors within embroidery software using these codes. The goal was to streamline this cumbersome process to improve efficiency.