iris
Seamless content creation for small business owners
Seamless content creation for small business owners
Seamless content creation for small business owners
Iris is an AI-powered content creation tool designed to help small business owners plan, design, post, and track analytics for social media content with ease. Many small business owners know that content is essential for growth, but creating it consistently requires time, design skills, and strategic planning they often don’t have. Juggling day-to-day responsibilities leaves little space for creative work, which leads to overwhelm and inconsistency online. I set out to solve this by making content creation simpler, more accessible, and more supportive.
Iris is an AI-powered content creation tool designed to help small business owners plan, design, post, and track analytics for social media content with ease. Many small business owners know that content is essential for growth, but creating it consistently requires time, design skills, and strategic planning they often don’t have. Juggling day-to-day responsibilities leaves little space for creative work, which leads to overwhelm and inconsistency online. I set out to solve this by making content creation simpler, more accessible, and more supportive.
Client:
Client:
SAS
SAS
Duaration:
Spring 2025 (8 Weeks)
Spring 2025 (8 Weeks)
Role:
Role:
Design and Research
Design and Research
Team:
Team:
3 UI/UX Designers
3 UI/UX Designers
background
SAS is a global leader in data and AI focused on helping people make confident, informed decisions. Their mission is to make powerful analytics easier to use so insights come faster and support the moments that matter. At its core, SAS is about trusted data, meaningful impact, and using analytics to drive real progress. In partnership with SAS, we were given 8weeks to complete the following task:
SAS is a global leader in data and AI focused on helping people make confident, informed decisions. Their mission is to make powerful analytics easier to use so insights come faster and support the moments that matter. At its core, SAS is about trusted data, meaningful impact, and using analytics to drive real progress. In partnership with SAS, we were given 8weeks to complete the following task:
"Create an original B2B application that incorporates generative artificial intelligence that satisfies business/user needs."
"Create an original B2B application that incorporates generative artificial intelligence that satisfies business/user needs."
Problem reframing
Small businesses rely heavily on social media for exposure and sales, but the process of content creation is fragmented. Most existing tools only cover one part of the journey, forcing users to juggle multiple apps for brainstorming, design, scheduling, posting, and performance tracking. This creates inefficiency, inconsistency, and missed opportunities to connect with customers. Image running the floor, handling inventory, mentoring coworkers, attending meetings, keeping everything clean, customer happy, and then boom you need to create another post for Instagram that reaches good engagement, aligns with the brand, and converts to sales.
Small businesses rely heavily on social media for exposure and sales, but the process of content creation is fragmented. Most tools only cover one part of the journey, forcing users to juggle multiple apps for brainstorming, design, scheduling, posting, and performance tracking. This creates inefficiency, inconsistency, and missed opportunities to connect with customers. Imagine running the floor, handling inventory, mentoring coworkers, attending meetings, keeping everything clean, customer happy, and then boom you need to create another post for Instagram that reaches good engagement, aligns with the brand, and converts to sales.
Generative Expand
Generative Expand
It’s hard to make one photo/video work everywhere. Resizing content for each platform takes time.
It’s hard to make one photo/video work everywhere. Resizing content for each platform takes time.
Keeping Up With Multiple Apps
Keeping Up With Multiple Apps
Time-consuming to capture, edit, post, and finalize in a quality way within different tools.
Time-consuming to capture, edit, post, and finalize in a quality way within different tools.
Consistent Social Presence
Trends move fast, and staying visually consistent is even harder, especially for non-designers.
Streamlining The Process
Small business owners already wear many hats. Content creation shouldn’t feel like the dreaded step.
Small business owners already wear many hats. Content creation shouldn’t feel like a dreaded step.
Growth & Insights
Tracking how posts perform and understanding your audience can feel very difficult to track across many platforms.
Solution
Introducing Iris
Iris, an all-in-one B2B platform that simplifies every part of social media management. Powered by generative AI, Iris supports brainstorming, trend analysis, scheduling, and content generation in one space. For small business owners who already wear too many hats, Iris makes the process smoother, saves time, and helps them stay creative, consistent, and confident.
Iris, an all-in-one B2B platform that simplifies every part of social media management. Powered by generative AI, Iris supports brainstorming, trend analysis, scheduling, and content generation in one space. For small business owners who already wear too many hats, Iris makes the process smoother, saves time, and helps them stay creative, consistent, and confident.
Breaking Down The Process
Breaking Down The Process
Identifying the pain points
Conversations with small business owners
Because of the project’s accelerated timeline, we couldn’t conduct full formal interviews. However, we still wanted direct user insight, so we held quick, conversational mini-interviews with small business owners and content creators to ground our assumptions in real experiences. These conversations revealed consistent pain points:
Because of the project’s accelerated timeline, we couldn’t conduct full formal interviews. However, we still wanted direct user insight, so we held quick, conversational mini-interviews with small business owners and content creators to ground our assumptions in real experiences. These conversations revealed consistent pain points:
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Difficulty managing content across multiple platforms, especially when each application has its own workflows and requirements.
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A strong desire for an intuitive, streamlined creation process that still feels authentic to their brand identity.
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Uncertainty about what to post, leading to inconsistent content and decision fatigue.
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A desire for clear, actionable feedback that helps them refine their content.
To understand how well existing tools were meeting these needs, our next step was to conduct a competitive analysis to find opportunities to solve users pain points.
To understand how well existing tools were meeting these needs, our next step was to conduct a competitive analysis to find opportunities to solve users pain points.
competitive analysis
Finding the missed opportunities
We explored leading tools in the space to uncover gaps in simplicity, creativity support, and workflow efficiency for busy small business owners.
We explored leading tools in the space to uncover gaps in simplicity, creativity support, and workflow efficiency for busy small business owners.
Mandala AI
Provides deep analytics and market intelligence, but there is an opportunity to bridge insights and creation by offering tools that support content production directly within the same flow.
Provides deep analytics and market intelligence, but there is an opportunity to bridge insights and creation by offering tools that support content production directly within the same flow.
Provides deep analytics and market intelligence, but there is an opportunity to bridge insights and creation by offering tools that support content production directly within the same flow.
Adobe Express
Powerful design tools, templates, brand kits, and quick editing features that make it easy to produce professional graphics, videos, and social posts. It gives users a lot of creative flexibility and polish, but with so many options and creative paths, it can feel overwhelming without guidance on trends, brand alignment, or what to create next.
Powerful design tools, templates, brand kits, and quick editing features that make it easy to produce professional graphics, videos, and social posts. It gives users a lot of creative flexibility and polish, but with so many options and creative paths, it can feel overwhelming without guidance on trends, brand alignment, or what to create next.
Powerful design tools, templates, brand kits, and quick editing features that make it easy to produce professional graphics, videos, and social posts. It gives users a lot of creative flexibility and polish, but with so many options and creative paths, it can feel overwhelming without guidance on trends, brand alignment, or what to create next.
Canva
Offers templates, brand kits, and the flexibility to start from scratch, making content creation feel easy. But because templates lead the experience, posts can begin to look similar across brands.
Offers templates, brand kits, and the flexibility to start from scratch, making content creation feel easy. But because templates lead the experience, posts can begin to look similar across brands.
Offers templates, brand kits, and the flexibility to start from scratch, making content creation feel easy. But because templates lead the experience, posts can begin to look similar across brands.
Persona
Hazel is a creative and organized assistant manager who loves capturing content on the floor but struggles to keep up with the demands of social media. Between helping customers, managing inventory, and mentoring her team, she rarely has time to create posts that look polished or align with her shop’s brand.
Hazel is a creative and organized assistant manager who loves capturing content on the floor but struggles to keep up with the demands of social media. Between helping customers, managing inventory, and mentoring her team, she rarely has time to create posts that look polished or align with her shop’s brand.
Hazel N. is an Assistant Manager @Local Coffee Shop. She has 3 years of experience and has a team of 5.
Painpoints
Creating content takes too much time
Struggles with sizing and formatting for different platforms
Juggling multiple apps feels disjointed
Wants to stay consistent without sacrificing her floor time
Creating content takes too much time
Struggles with sizing and formatting for platforms
Juggling multiple apps feels disjointed
Wants to stay consistent without sacrificing her floor time
Goals
Save time and stay on brand
Post confidently across all platforms
One space for planning, creating, and scheduling content
Save time and stay on brand
Post confidently across all platforms
One space for planning, creating, and scheduling content
Task flow
The task flow was designed to guide her through each step of content creation in a clear and easy way. AI helps where it makes sense by suggesting, reminding, and supporting her while she stays in control.
The task flow was designed to guide her through each step of content creation in a clear and easy way. AI helps where it makes sense by suggesting, reminding, and supporting her while she stays in control.
Low fidelity wireframes
Iteration and Pivot Moments
Iteration and Pivot Moments
We explored how far generative AI should go within the platform
Many discussion were held to see the pros and cons of the usage of AI, specifically generative AI. Some felt AI could take over entirely, generating full images for users, while others questioned if even captions or text generation pushed the limits too far. These conflicting perspectives led us to pause and reconsider: where should AI assist, and where should creative control remain with the user?
This pivot helped us focus on Hazel, who values support with efficiency but still wants to maintain authenticity in their brand voice. By acknowledging that different users have varying comfort levels with AI, we refined our concepts to balance automation with user control.
Many discussion were held to see the pros and cons of the usage of AI, specifically generative AI. Some felt AI could take over entirely, generating full images for users, while others questioned if even captions or text generation pushed the limits too far. These conflicting perspectives led us to pause and reconsider: where should AI assist, and where should creative control remain with the user?
This pivot helped us focus on Hazel, who values support with efficiency but still wants to maintain authenticity in their brand voice. By acknowledging that different users have varying comfort levels with AI, we refined our concepts to balance automation with user control.
Full prototype
Key feature 1
“Sometimes I just want to do it all myself”
Advanced editing is available for users who want to have a more hands-on approach to content creation and photo editing
Advanced editing is available for users who want to have a more hands-on approach to content creation and photo editing
Key feature 2
“Not quite right… let me fix that”
The Prompt Edit button gives users more control than the standard AI generate option. By entering their own language and directions, users can collaborate with the AI system to shape content that feels distinctive and true to their brand.
The Prompt Edit button gives users more control than the standard AI generate option. By entering their own language and directions, users can collaborate with the AI system to shape content that feels distinctive and true to their brand.
Key feature 3
“Caught it. Enhanced it. Ready to post”
The mobile app offers a smaller set of features than the website, but makes it easy to capture and edit photos with the phone’s camera. Images are AI-enhanced and saved to a built-in drive, so they’re ready to use for content without taking up space in the phone’s gallery.
The mobile app offers a smaller set of features than the website, but makes it easy to capture and edit photos with the phone’s camera. Images are AI-enhanced and saved to a built-in drive, so they’re ready to use for content without taking up space in the phone’s gallery.
final scenario video
Impact / Reflection / Future
If I were to continue this project, I would conduct more user testing such as usability test to better understand how different audiences interact with AI features. I would also expand the concept to explore what video capturing and editing could look like within the platform. In addition, I would refine the mobile experience to better support quick, on-the-go content creation without losing the depth of the desktop tools.
If I were to continue this project, I would conduct more user testing such as usability test to better understand how different audiences interact with AI features. I would also expand the concept to explore what video capturing and editing could look like within the platform. In addition, I would refine the mobile experience to better support quick, on-the-go content creation without losing the depth of the desktop tools.
What I Learned
AI can simplify business content creation and improve consistency, but it's important to have human collaboration and educate users.
What Stood Out
People were split — some loved the no generative AI, others wondered if we were missing a key opportunity with it.
People were split — some loved no generative AI, others wondered if we were missing a key opportunity with it.
Takeaway
Flexibility matters. Users need to choose how much or how little they rely on AI. Given more time, I am curious to see how we could innovate an ethical way to use generative images.
Growth Moment
My first BIG UX project taught me the importance of collaboration–with teammates, mentors, and users is key in all phases of the process.
Future Opportunities
Expand into video capturing and editing while keeping the platform simple, supportive, and adaptable. Run usability tests with small business owners.
Thank you for being here!
Created with curiosity, passion, & the occasional coffee ©2025 Amaya Hush
Thank you for being here!
Created with curiosity, passion, & the occasional coffee ©2025 Amaya Hush
Thank you for being here!
Created with curiosity, passion, & the occasional coffee ©2025 Amaya Hush