Anaplan

Connected Planning

Anaplan stands at the forefront of Connected Planning, propelled by its innovative Hyperblock technology. This platform reshapes how organisations engage in dynamic, collaborative, and intelligent planning. By sidestepping the traditional, sluggish practices of spreadsheet sharing and prolonged data consolidation, Anaplan empowers large enterprises to connect personnel, data, and processes—paving the way for real-time planning and agile decision-making.

The culmination of our project marked a significant milestone in Anaplan's journey. Following the successful redesign and the implementation of our comprehensive design system, Anaplan made a monumental stride forward with its IPO, debuting at an impressive valuation of $1.71 billion. This achievement underscored the platform's robust capabilities and market potential and highlighted the critical role that thoughtful design and user-centric planning play in a company's growth and public reception.

Project Brief

Our mandate was to conceptualise and design a next-generation connected planning software that would deliver simplicity for the occasional user while providing comprehensive features for the power user. This undertaking also involved crafting the subsequent iteration of the platform, fine-tuning the user interaction experience, and developing an AA-compliant visual design system.  

Team Composition & Role

Collaboration was key in this venture. Our cohort, a synergy of the client's internal talents, comprised UX Designers, Visual Designers, Researchers, and Engineering professionals from both front-end and back-end disciplines.

My pivotal contribution revolved around the development of a design system aligned with AA compliance. This system ensured that components were primed for production with an array of states and interactions, bolstered by thorough documentation.

Our journey commenced with intensive workshops spanning several weeks, aimed at deeply understanding the product and crystallising the project's objectives. The planning phase presented challenges, given our team's distribution across four distinct locales and spanning two time zones.

Challenges

Navigating Colour Accessibility in Data Visualisation

Among the myriad of tasks, one particular challenge that stood out was the creation of an accessible colour palette suitable for large datasets and complex charts. This endeavour demanded rigorous contrast testing to ensure that our visuals were not only aesthetically pleasing but also compliant with accessibility standards. These colours needed to be discernible for all users, including those with colour vision deficiencies. Through a meticulous process of selection and testing, we established a palette that maintained clarity and distinction across all forms of data representation, ensuring that our charts were interpretable by a broad audience.

Accessibility

Central to this project was the imperative of accessibility. With a vast, diverse user base, it was critical to sculpt a platform cognisant of visual and auditory challenges. This venture marked my inaugural foray into accessibility at scale, demanding rapid assimilation of WCAG 2.1 standards alongside prompt and precise execution.

Theming

Anaplan's bifurcated ecosystem, segregating the Designer from the end user, necessitated a clear thematic distinction. Our aim was to ensure intuitive recognition and interaction within these two pivotal spaces.

Collaborative work environment

Distributed teams can encounter friction when pre-existing software falls short of fostering collaboration. My response involved a diligent exploration and assessment of virtual workspaces and version control tools, culminating in the adoption of robust and secure solutions. Integral to this effort was the establishment of meticulously documented files to ensure seamless teamwork.

Examples of components within the interface.

The Hub Experience

A key moment in the project came when our lead designer entrusted me with an additional responsibility beyond the main scope of Acrylic. Drawing on my expertise in interaction and prototyping, I was asked to create an early-stage demo prototype for the annual HUB conference in Las Vegas. With around 10,000 international attendees, this event was a significant opportunity to showcase our design concepts on a large scale.

The prototype wasn’t just for show—it was an interactive experience that allowed real users to engage with our ideas. This provided invaluable feedback early on, helping to validate our design decisions and highlight areas that needed refinement. Ultimately, this user-driven input played a crucial role in shaping the direction of the project.