
Envato Elements (or Elements for short) is an online creative subscription, offering people unlimited downloads of millions of digital assets.
For Elements users, the ability to find the right assets on Elements is crucial for them to complete their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business. In 2020, we set out to improve the Elements search functionality and experience and in 2021, we have also set out to make inspirational content more discoverable on Elements.
Here are the outcomes (August - November 2020):
Envato Elements (or Elements for short) is an online creative subscription, offering people unlimited downloads of millions of digital assets.
For Elements users, the ability to find the right assets on Elements is crucial for them to complete their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business. In 2020, we set out to improve the Elements search functionality and experience and in 2021, we have also set out to make inspirational content more discoverable on Elements.
Here are the outcomes (August - November 2020):
Envato Elements (or Elements for short) is an online creative subscription, offering people unlimited downloads of millions of digital assets.
For Elements users, the ability to find the right assets on Elements is crucial for them to complete their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business. In 2020, we set out to improve the Elements search functionality and experience and in 2021, we have also set out to make inspirational content more discoverable on Elements.
Here are the outcomes (August - November 2020):
Envato Elements (or Elements for short) is an online creative subscription, offering people unlimited downloads of millions of digital assets.
For Elements users, the ability to find the right assets on Elements is crucial for them to complete their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business. In 2020, we set out to improve the Elements search functionality and experience and in 2021, we have also set out to make inspirational content more discoverable on Elements.
Here are the outcomes (August - November 2020):
The lead Product Designer for this initiative, working with the core Search and Discovery delivery team consisting of Engineers, Product Managers, a Product Analyst and a UX Researcher.
I also included other subject matter experts and stakeholders in the Content, SEO, Tools and Integration and Marketing space in my process, ensuring that they were part of relevant conversations, relevant feedback loops, joined in workshops I facilitated and understood the rationale behind decisions.
What I've done: UX research, benchmarking, competitor analysis, workshop planning and facilitation (discover, define and ideate), prototyping, concept testing, UX and UI Design, Interaction Design.
2020 - Present
The lead Product Designer for this initiative, working with the core Search and Discovery delivery team consisting of Engineers, Product Managers, a Product Analyst and a UX Researcher.
I also included other subject matter experts and stakeholders in the Content, SEO, Tools and Integration and Marketing space in my process, ensuring that they were part of relevant conversations, relevant feedback loops, joined in workshops I facilitated and understood the rationale behind decisions.
What I've done: UX research, benchmarking, competitor analysis, workshop planning and facilitation (discover, define and ideate), prototyping, concept testing, UX and UI Design, Interaction Design.
2020 - Present
The lead Product Designer for this initiative, working with the core Search and Discovery delivery team consisting of Engineers, Product Managers, a Product Analyst and a UX Researcher.
I also included other subject matter experts and stakeholders in the Content, SEO, Tools and Integration and Marketing space in my process, ensuring that they were part of relevant conversations, relevant feedback loops, joined in workshops I facilitated and understood the rationale behind decisions.
What I've done: UX research, benchmarking, competitor analysis, workshop planning and facilitation (discover, define and ideate), prototyping, concept testing, UX and UI Design, Interaction Design.
2020 - Present
The lead Product Designer for this initiative, working with the core Search and Discovery delivery team consisting of Engineers, Product Managers, a Product Analyst and a UX Researcher.
I also included other subject matter experts and stakeholders in the Content, SEO, Tools and Integration and Marketing space in my process, ensuring that they were part of relevant conversations, relevant feedback loops, joined in workshops I facilitated and understood the rationale behind decisions.
What I've done: UX research, benchmarking, competitor analysis, workshop planning and facilitation (discover, define and ideate), prototyping, concept testing, UX and UI Design, Interaction Design.
2020 - Present
The lead Product Designer for this initiative, working with the core Search and Discovery delivery team consisting of Engineers, Product Managers, a Product Analyst and a UX Researcher.
I also included other subject matter experts and stakeholders in the Content, SEO, Tools and Integration and Marketing space in my process, ensuring that they were part of relevant conversations, relevant feedback loops, joined in workshops I facilitated and understood the rationale behind decisions.
What I've done: UX research, benchmarking, competitor analysis, workshop planning and facilitation (discover, define and ideate), prototyping, concept testing, UX and UI Design, Interaction Design.
2020 - Present
For Elements users (potential and existing subscribers), the ability to search on Elements is crucial in finding the right assets for their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business because:
“It takes HOURS to dig for something that takes a few seconds to search in any other stock site...”
- Elements user
Examples of insights and data
Qualitative and Quantitative insights (gathered from user interviews and surveying):
Note: We spoke with 12 participants, including 5 potential users and 7 current subscribers.
Analysis of Elements visitor behaviour when searching (measured over 3 weeks at the time):
Competitor analysis:
Other insights gathered when speaking with subject matter experts and doing internal reviews:
My role involved assisting with user research, synthesis, leading the competitor analysis and discussions with subject matter experts.
For Elements users (potential and existing subscribers), the ability to search on Elements is crucial in finding the right assets for their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business because:
“It takes HOURS to dig for something that takes a few seconds to search in any other stock site...”
- Elements user
Examples of insights and data
Qualitative and Quantitative insights (gathered from user interviews and surveying):
Note: We spoke with 12 participants, including 5 potential users and 7 current subscribers.
Analysis of Elements visitor behaviour when searching (measured over 3 weeks at the time):
Competitor analysis:
Other insights gathered when speaking with subject matter experts and doing internal reviews:
My role involved assisting with user research, synthesis, leading the competitor analysis and discussions with subject matter experts.
For Elements users (potential and existing subscribers), the ability to search on Elements is crucial in finding the right assets for their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business because:
“It takes HOURS to dig for something that takes a few seconds to search in any other stock site...”
- Elements user
Examples of insights and data
Qualitative and Quantitative insights (gathered from user interviews, surveys and internal reviews):
Note: We spoke with 12 participants, including 5 potential users and 7 current subscribers.
Analysis of Elements visitor behaviour when searching (measured over 3 weeks at the time):
Competitor analysis:
Other insights gathered when speaking with subject matter experts and doing internal reviews:
My role involved assisting with user research, synthesis, leading the competitor analysis and discussions with subject matter experts.
Starting with Search
Discover
For Elements users (potential and existing subscribers), the ability to search on Elements is crucial in finding the right assets for their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business because:
“It takes HOURS to dig for something that takes a few seconds to search in any other stock site...”
- Elements user
Examples of insights and data
Qualitative and Quantitative insights (gathered from user interviews, surveys and internal reviews):
Note: We spoke with 12 participants, including 5 potential users and 7 current subscribers.
Analysis of Elements visitor behaviour when searching (measured over 3 weeks at the time):
Competitor analysis:
Other insights gathered when speaking with subject matter experts and doing internal reviews:
My role involved assisting with user research, synthesis, leading the competitor analysis and discussions with subject matter experts.
For Elements users (potential and existing subscribers), the ability to search on Elements is crucial in finding the right assets for their creative projects. However, the search experience on Elements is less than ideal and a key improvement area for the business because:
“It takes HOURS to dig for something that takes a few seconds to search in any other stock site...”
- Elements user
Examples of insights and data
Qualitative and Quantitative insights (gathered from user interviews and surveying):
Note: We spoke with 12 participants, including 5 potential users and 7 current subscribers.
Analysis of Elements visitor behaviour when searching (measured over 3 weeks at the time):
Competitor analysis:
Other insights gathered when speaking with subject matter experts and doing internal reviews:
My role involved assisting with user research, synthesis, leading the competitor analysis and discussions with subject matter experts.
Describe
Our core search team ran a kick-off workshop with stakeholders and subject matter experts to look at the problem space, align on why we’re addressing this problem, list out questions, assumptions and agree on the outcomes we wanted.
Desired outcomes (details not shared):
Following that, we ran an opportunity tree creation session to come up with a set of user statements (informed by the insights and data) under the outcomes and came up with opportunities and potential solutions under the statements. We then chose 2 statements to prioritise going forward based on potential impact, value and effort:

Opportunity tree
I also facilitated an ideation workshop with the core search team to generate and encourage the exploration of more ideas around how we can help customers find assets faster (statement 2) through the reverse brainstorming approach.

Screenshot of people's sketches in the ideation workshop - How might we allow users to save time and find assets as efficiently as possible?
Screenshot of people's sketches in the ideation workshop - How might we allow users to save time and find assets as efficiently as possible?
Design, Develop
Rapid experimentation
We first made improvements and fixes to the basic search functionality e.g. better handling of compound words and synonyms and how we handle stemming (e.g. words ending in “-ing”) to serve more relevant results to users.
In order to get to a greater degree of confidence in which solutions would be best in addressing the 2 user statements, we did on-site multivariate testing and A/B testing in sprints (tests ran for 2 weeks or more on-site, determined by the amount of traffic needed) to validate the product, UX and algorithm related solutions we came up with. At the end of each test, a decision was made on whether we would deploy, iterate, pivot, shelve or abandon the solution based on whether it was helping us achieve our desired outcomes or not.
We had a hypothesis (informed by existing insights and data) for each solution we tested and determined what we were tracking to measure impact. Having a hypothesis is important to avoid testing just for the sake of it.
For product, UX and design-related opportunities, I formed and shaped hypotheses with the input of the core team and subject matter experts and explored different designs of variants we could test. During this stage, I like to get people from other teams e.g. digital designers and product designers from other parts of the business involved in co-design sessions whenever I can to get fresh perspectives and come up with more designs. I also did concept testing to gather user feedback and had constant feedback loops to guide the direction of designs and help me rationalise and present design decisions back to my team and stakeholders.
Design solution example: Genre, Mood and Instruments
Hypothesis: Customer feedback from as early as 2018 gave insight that Elements audio users want the ability to refine their audio items by Genre, Mood and Instrument (GMI). We hypothesise that it will help users find relevant audio items more efficiently and in turn, increase downloads and conversion.
What we tracked: Usage, interaction with audio items, search to download rate, search to subscribe rate.
I worked closely with audio content specialists to synthesise customer feedback, do a competitor analysis and identify genres, moods and instruments among the top search keywords. This helped me create separate lists of Genre, Mood and Instrument terms to test as facets. The list was validated against our data and can be refined as we learn more about Audio user behaviour and needs over time.
Design, Develop
Rapid experimentation
We first made improvements and fixes to the basic search functionality e.g. better handling of compound words and synonyms and how we handle stemming (e.g. words ending in “-ing”) to serve more relevant results to users.
In order to get to a greater degree of confidence in which solutions would be best in addressing the 2 user statements, we did on-site multivariate testing and A/B testing in sprints (tests ran for 2 weeks or more on-site, determined by the amount of traffic needed) to validate the product, UX and algorithm related solutions we came up with. At the end of each test, a decision was made on whether we would deploy, iterate, pivot, shelve or abandon the solution based on whether it was helping us achieve our desired outcomes or not.
We had a hypothesis (informed by existing insights and data) for each solution we tested and determined what we were tracking to measure impact. Having a hypothesis is important to avoid testing just for the sake of it.
For product, UX and design-related opportunities, I formed and shaped hypotheses with the input of the core team and subject matter experts and explored different designs of variants we could test. During this stage, I like to get people from other teams e.g. digital designers and product designers from other parts of the business involved in co-design sessions whenever I can to get fresh perspectives and come up with more designs. I also did concept testing to gather user feedback and had constant feedback loops to guide the direction of designs and help me rationalise and present design decisions back to my team and stakeholders.
Design solution example: Genre, Mood and Instruments
Hypothesis: Customer feedback from as early as 2018 gave insight that Elements audio users want the ability to refine their audio items by Genre, Mood and Instrument (GMI). We hypothesise that it will help users find relevant audio items more efficiently and in turn, increase downloads and conversion.
What we tracked: Usage, interaction with audio items, search to download rate, search to subscribe rate.
I worked closely with audio content specialists to synthesise customer feedback, do a competitor analysis and identify genres, moods and instruments among the top search keywords. This helped me create separate lists of Genre, Mood and Instrument terms to test as facets. The list was validated against our data and can be refined as we learn more about Audio user behaviour and needs over time.
After, I explored (using low-fidelity sketches and mock-ups) how users could interact with Genre, Mood and Instrument facets and how it could be displayed on-site for feedback. I created prototypes to run concept testing sessions with 8 Elements audio users to understand how they could utilise genre, mood and instrument facets to find the audio items they need for their projects:
- Do they expect it to be part of the existing filters?
- Will the ability to exclude as well as include genres, moods and instruments be valuable?
- In what way should genre, mood and instrument facets be presented that will make it easy for audio users to find what they need?
Note: The prototype was for desktop as the majority visit and use Elements on desktop.
After, I explored (using low-fidelity sketches and mock-ups) how users could interact with Genre, Mood and Instrument facets and how it could be displayed on-site for feedback. I created prototypes to run concept testing sessions with 8 Elements audio users to understand how they could utilise genre, mood and instrument facets to find the audio items they need for their projects:
- Do they expect it to be part of the existing filters?
- Will the ability to exclude as well as include genres, moods and instruments be valuable?
- In what way should genre, mood and instrument facets be presented that will make it easy for audio users to find what they need?
Note: The prototypes were for desktop as the majority visit and use Elements on desktop.

Screenshot of prototype 1: GMI in the existing filters section on the left

Screenshot of prototype 2: GMI above results
Screenshot of prototype 2: GMI above results

Screenshot of prototype 3: GMI below header

Concept testing GMI with Elements Audio users
Concept testing GMI with Elements Audio users

What we learnt from concept testing:
Therefore, this is the direction I headed in for the high-fidelity designs and what we tested against the control (no GMI) on-site.
Results of the A/B test:
GMI has since been deployed, check it out live here.
Examples of other design solutions (tested and deployed):
Sticky filters
Originally the filters on search pages moved up with the page as the user scrolled down to view the results.

Original filters that were not sticky (control)
Hypothesis: Making the filters sticky allows them to be more accessible for users as they scroll down the page. Users will be able to refine their results to find something relevant more quickly, which will in turn increase downloads and subscriptions.
Outcomes:
Sticky filters have since been deployed. Check it out here.

High-fidelity sticky filter designs (mobile and tablet)

High-fidelity sticky filter designs (desktop)
Related searches
Hypothesis: Related searches are violet links at the top of search pages and users have given us feedback that the feature has been mistaken as breadcrumbs, causing confusion. We hypothesise that:
- If we improved the look & feel of 'related searches', it will reduce user confusion, increase engagement & result in more downloads.
- If we find the optimal position for the ‘related searches’ on results pages, it will better align with the user's search journey and needs.

The original violet related search links that people mistook as breadcrumb navigation (control)

Related searches design exploration: Rectangular pill (search term + thumbnail)

Related searches design exploration: Search term only

Related searches design exploration: Circular pill (search term + thumbnail)

Related searches design exploration: Square thumbnail pill (search term + thumbnail)

Related searches design exploration: Large thumbnail (middle of results)

Related searches design exploration: Large thumbnail with overlaying search term (middle of results)

Variant 3 (Circular pill, at top and bottom of the results) was the winner.
The new related searches design and position has been deployed, check it out here.
Variant 3 (Circular pill, at top and bottom of the results) was the winner.
The new related searches design and position has been deployed, check it out here.
Variant 3 (Circular pill, at top and bottom of the results) was the winner.
The new related searches design and position has been deployed, check it out here.
Variant 3 (Circular pill, at top and bottom of the results) was the winner.
The new related searches design and position has been deployed, check it out here.
Variant 3 (Circular pill, at top and bottom of the results) was the winner.
The new related searches design and position has been deployed, check it out here.

Deploy
Here are examples of some of the solutions we’ve deployed so far to improve search and the statements they address
As an Elements user, I don't get relevant results on the first page of my search. I’m unsure if you don’t have the asset or if I’m not entering the right keyword/s:
As an Elements user, I want to be able to save time and find assets as efficiently as possible.
After our first series of changes made to search, I launched a survey to help measure how customers felt with these changes and learn more about how we can continue to improve search. This survey will continue to be launched so that we continuously gather customer feedback and sentiment.
Outcomes so far (August-November 2020)
Next steps
As finding relevant items remain a core need of our users, we continue investing in:
Deploy
Here are examples of some of the solutions we’ve deployed so far to improve search and the statements they address
As an Elements user, I don't get relevant results on the first page of my search. I’m unsure if you don’t have the asset or if I’m not entering the right keyword/s:
As an Elements user, I want to be able to save time and find assets as efficiently as possible.
After our first series of changes made to search, I launched a survey to help measure how customers felt with these changes and learn more about how we can continue to improve search. This survey will continue to be launched so that we continuously gather customer feedback and sentiment.
Outcomes so far (August-November 2020)
Next steps
As finding relevant items remain a core need of our users, we continue investing in:
High quality metadata to enable more relevant results to be surfaced and more valuable refinements to be made by users.
Machine learning and other means of increasing the quality of the results.
Research to dig deeper into the categories and get a better understanding of the content needs of power users for each category.
Deploy
Here are examples of some of the solutions we’ve deployed so far to improve search and the statements they address
As an Elements user, I don't get relevant results on the first page of my search. I’m unsure if you don’t have the asset or if I’m not entering the right keyword/s:
As an Elements user, I want to be able to save time and find assets as efficiently as possible.
After our first series of changes made to search, I launched a survey to help measure how customers felt with these changes and learn more about how we can continue to improve search. This survey will continue to be launched so that we continuously gather customer feedback and sentiment.
Outcomes so far (August-November 2020)
Next steps
As finding relevant items remain a core need of our users, we continue investing in:
Diving into the Discovery space (while continuing to improve search)
The beginning
For Elements users, finding inspiration is a key part of their creative process. 80% of Elements users hope to be inspired and for 20%, it’s the hardest part of the creative process. Inspiration needs arise early and all throughout the process, which makes the discovery of inspirational content on Elements a great opener for attracting & converting new users to and retaining existing subscribers.
To kick things off in the discovery space, I planned and facilitated a 3-day design sprint with the core search delivery team, stakeholders across the business and users (both in-person and remote).
The overall objective of the design sprint: Identify the goal we wish to achieve by improving Discovery on Elements, the key customer problems we are solving and an idea of the solutions we would explore
Diving into the Discovery space (while continuing to improve search)
The beginning
For Elements users, finding inspiration is a key part of their creative process. 80% of Elements users hope to be inspired and for 20%, it’s the hardest part of the creative process. Inspiration needs arise early and all throughout the process, which makes the discovery of inspirational content on Elements a great opener for attracting & converting new users to and retaining existing subscribers.
To kick things off in the discovery space, I planned and facilitated a 3-day design sprint with the core search delivery team, stakeholders across the business and users (both in-person and remote).
The overall objective of the design sprint: Identify the goal we wish to achieve by improving Discovery on Elements, the key customer problems we are solving and an idea of the solutions we would explore.
The beginning
For Elements users, finding inspiration is a key part of their creative process. 80% of Elements users hope to be inspired and for 20%, it’s the hardest part of the creative process. Inspiration needs arise early and all throughout the process, which makes the discovery of inspirational content on Elements a great opener for attracting & converting new users to and retaining existing subscribers.
To kick things off in the discovery space, I planned and facilitated a 3-day design sprint with the core search delivery team, stakeholders across the business and users (both in-person and remote).
The overall objective of the design sprint: Identify the goal we wish to achieve by improving Discovery on Elements, the key customer problems we are solving and an idea of the solutions we would explore.
The beginning
For Elements users, finding inspiration is a key part of their creative process. 80% of Elements users hope to be inspired and for 20%, it’s the hardest part of the creative process. Inspiration needs arise early and all throughout the process, which makes the discovery of inspirational content on Elements a great opener for attracting & converting new users to and retaining existing subscribers.
To kick things off in the discovery space, I planned and facilitated a 3-day design sprint with the core search delivery team, stakeholders across the business and users (both in-person and remote).
The overall objective of the design sprint: Identify the goal we wish to achieve by improving Discovery on Elements, the key customer problems we are solving and an idea of the solutions we would explore.
The beginning
For Elements users, finding inspiration is a key part of their creative process. 80% of Elements users hope to be inspired and for 20%, it’s the hardest part of the creative process. Inspiration needs arise early and all throughout the process, which makes the discovery of inspirational content on Elements a great opener for attracting & converting new users to and retaining existing subscribers.
To kick things off in the discovery space, I planned and facilitated a 3-day design sprint with the core search delivery team, stakeholders across the business and users (both in-person and remote).
The overall objective of the design sprint: Identify the goal we wish to achieve by improving Discovery on Elements, the key customer problems we are solving and an idea of the solutions we would explore.




Images taken from the Discovery Design sprint