The Challenge

Designing tomorrow's maritime solutions.

Approximately 90% of the goods produced worldwide are transported by water. The services built for the maritime industry are inconsistent and outdated.
90POE Design Studio hired me to help them build a suite of applications for the maritime industry.
The team was divided into squads. I was part of the Safety and Compliance squad. My focus was on designing solutions for the Audit and Inspections, Incident Reporting and Procedures tools. I've also contributed to the Vessel Itinerary Application part of the same Open Ocean Studio Suite.

Getting to know the audience

I don’t design for “happy paths” because I don’t believe in “perfect” users. Vessel audits and inspections happen in challenging conditions.
Most of the time, the inspectors are seniors, retired sea captains or officers. They travel around the world to perform audits, inspections and training. They get to board vessels at specific times and do their work in rough conditions. Sometimes, on a tight schedule, wearing protective equipment.
The Audit and Inspection application has to adapt to those conditions: used by seniors, those on the move, and devices with poor or no internet connection.

Thinking on the walls

An essential requirement was to design applications capable of absorbing data from legacy systems and repositories. To this end, all the journeys were mapped to connect processes with sources.
Another important aspect is generated by the specific maritime context in which data moves from shore to anywhere at sea. Anywhere means poor to no internet connection. This means the constraints must be accounted for when designing the logic and the interfaces.

Validating solutions

I designed various prototypes to be tested to deliver a solid proof of concept (POC). Everything was built out of reusable/ responsive components.
The solution I delivered for audit and inspection applications was designed to fit a scalable architecture and integrate with other essential applications, such as Crew and Vessel Itinerary.
A few audit inspectors were called in to test the prototypes. After the tests, the results were analysed, and the prototypes were updated.
The POC was ready to become the MVP.

The result

The Open Ocean Studio™ platform is live.
The Audit and Inspection tool offers an efficient way to plan, audit, and generate corrective instructions today, as well as record and analyse.
From pen, paper, and messy spreadsheets to an integrated system available via the cloud and satellite from anywhere. The tools I designed are set to be part of a digital revolution in the maritime industry.

Visit OOS site ↗︎

Zuzana Dobro • Innovation & Design Thinking Facilitator

I had a pleasure working with Alin on various User Experience prototypes and projects across a robust platform. I thought I was a prototyping geek, but Alin took it to the next level. He's an Axure Wizard, seriously amazing. Apart Alin being an experienced Senior UX Designer, I've also enjoyed our lunch debates about all sorts of topics. He's a deep thinker and problem solver who is capable of looking at the world through many different lenses.

Andy Kwedo • Lead Product Designer

There is no doubt Alin is among creme de la creme of the design talents, except you don't need my reference to know it - simply verify this by checking his portfolio. Let me use our time wisely and share how Alin will enrich your team.

He will propose solutions showing empathic understanding of users needs and economic understanding of the business cases. He will think ahead and care about the project like the father cares about his children - taking care of their health and security. He will show curiosity and won't be afraid to challenge introduced concepts with great ideas and deep philosophy.

He will provoke the team to grow, help them reflect and learn more about themselves while bringing a lot of smiles. He will quickly establish himself as an unreplaceable part of the team, setting the bar exceptionally high for anyone to follow and before you know it, he will become your friend 🖖

Danile White • Product & User Experience Leadership

Alin is one of the rare breed of designers who gets stuck in and produces very carefully considered and well-executed product designs and prototypes. His ability to take a conceptual idea and translate it into a workable prototype is second to none.

I had the pleasure of having Alin on my team for a little under a year, and he’s left a lasting positive impact on my team both professionally and personally. I hope I have had the opportunity to work with him again, and I highly recommend him to anyone.

Man with glasses and beard on gray background.

Peter Chermanowicz • Senior Front-End Developer

had a real pleasure to work with Alin on a large-scale, complex project for maritime industry. Alin proved to be one of the best UX/UI designers I've ever worked with. His ability do deeply analyse the user flow and user experience requirements was beyond of what I have ever seen. He turned a blurry, sketchy vision of the product to a series of interactive, well thought through prototypes and designs, perfect for the developers to work with. I truly hope our paths will cross again in the future.