Digital Signature Flow for Shipping
This was a design exercise for a shipping company that later became a real product proposal.
Normally, I avoid speculative assignments that mirror real business problems, but this one was different since the company had never worked with a UX designer before. They needed something tangible to understand how UX could fit into their product process.
My Contribution
I created a proposal for a digital signing module that could work both inside the ERP and as a standalone web app.
I mapped the current signing flow,
I collected insights from the implementation (support) team, who had direct user contact
And I designed a high-level concept and short presentation for the CEO.
The proposal earned strong feedback and eventually led to my hiring. After joining, I refined the mockups and helped explore how the feature could actually be built.
What was the Problem?
The company had no digital signing system. Every document (e.g., contracts, simple invoices etc.) had to be printed, signed, scanned, and re-uploaded. It was slow, error-prone, and hard to trace.
Through the implementation team, I learned users (e.g., seamen, captains, general ship crew) struggled daily:
Documents went missing or were misfiled.
Signatures couldn’t always be verified.
Supervisors spent hours chasing confirmations.
Seafarers found it impossible to use while wearing gloves or working offline.
Discovery
Since I didn’t have direct access to end-users, I relied on second-hand research through the implementation team, who handled support calls and knew user pain points firsthand.
I conducted desk and legal research on maritime documentation standards, signature regulations, and data compliance to ground assumptions.
To understand stakeholders and their needs, I included for further research the following personas to map:
Seafarers, who needed to sign quickly and return to duties.
Supervisors, who needed traceable records to avoid penalties.
Finance teams, who required a secure, compliant, and automated workflow.
Shipping companies, aiming to cut costs, delays, and compliance risks.
Since direct user access was limited, I planned to validate these insights through competitor analysis, industry research, and light field studies that wouldn’t overburden crews. This mixed-method approach or lightweight initial research to gain some context allowed me to propose realistic assumptions.
Ideation
I approached the concept as a standalone app to keep it flexible and simple. Since dexterity and time were the main constraints for seafarers, the experience had to work with minimal interaction and zero friction.
I designed a mobile-first flow where users could receive and act on a signing request directly from a notification. By using the native context menu (long-press on a notification), users could choose to review, sign, snooze, or message the sender without even opening the app which is an essential shortcut for crews working mid-shift.
Inside the app, documents were easy to preview, with key details surfaced up front and AI-assisted summaries to show what was being signed. Users could scan physical documents, preview them, and have their saved signature automatically placed and verified.
Outcomes
The proposal received strong feedback from the CEO and stakeholders who appreciated how it connected user reality with business priorities. The concept introduced new considerations around accessibility, auditability, and dexterity, areas the team hadn’t previously explored.
It also helped the company see the value of UX as more than “making screens", since the proposal spanned from field usability to compliance and process automation.
The project got me hired, and I later worked on turning the concept into a live product.
