CASE STUDY

Launching Seek by mySidewalk

When data wrangling stood in the way of adoption, I helped mySidewalk launch Seek to help non-technical users find actionable community insights with ease.

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FROM POINT SOLUTIONS TO WORKFLOW TRANSFORMATION

How mySidewalk transformed community data access and became a workflow solution for public servants.

  • SITUATION

  • INSIGHT

  • SOLUTION

  • IMPACT

data wrangling graphic

Data wrangling sucks.

mySidewalk, a Kansas City-based technology company, empowers non-technical public service professionals with tools to find, visualize, and communicate with geo-spatial data.

Despite an impressive product, they struggled to unlock large sections of their target market: non-technical users in public service. Their biggest competitor? Simply doing nothing.

When asked, most prospects considered working data work outside of their scope of responsibilities, highlighting a critical awareness gap between prospects problem space and mySidewalk's mission. If they were going to truly democratize data, they needed to reframe the narrative.

Seek-Data Library

Removing friction to data access is the first step in a workflow.

When digging in, users repeatedly told us the same thing: data wrangling is overwhelming. Questions like What do I search for? Where do I find it? How do I even start? revealed the need for a simpler way to approach data. To help users see community insights as integral to their work, we had to make getting started with data seamless and intuitive.
 
Seek began as an internal tool to help mySidewalk's data analysts and engineers navigate a vast library of curated community data. As we explored ways to bridge the gap between non-technical users and the possibilities within mySidewalk, we discovered Seek’s true value: it demonstrated how access to high-quality, user-friendly community data could transform public service. By removing the friction of data wrangling, non-technical users could shift their focus to uncovering insights and making data-driven decisions.
Seek workflow screenshots

Productizing the job-to-be-done.

To build awareness for Seek, we anchored it in a relatable problem space for our users. We launched with a bold promise: Seek answers, not data.

Our message was simple. You don’t need another complicated data analysis tool, you need a tool that delivers real, actionable insights to help you do your job. Seek provided concrete, data-backed truths to support critical decisions, empowering users to build the communities they believed in without getting bogged down in the technical complexity of data wrangling.

Seek logo

From point solutions to workflow transformations.

Seek became the catalyst for a pivotal shift at mySidewalk, moving the company from point solutions to sustainable, workflow-driven solutions. By anchoring Seek within newly structured packaging, mySidewalk not only aligned its offerings more closely with user needs but also unlocked significant mindshare.

Organic traffic surged from ~700 to ~2,000 unique monthly sessions, signaling heightened awareness and engagement.

Image of an animatic
1 We started with a vision for how we wanted the script to flow, developing an animatic for how we would introduce elements of Seek into the real world.
Styleboard designs for Seek
2 Next we developed a few styleboard directions for how Seek illustrations might manifest and transform into branded and productized elements.
Images of Seek World
2 Lastly we worked with our motion design team to design and render "Seek world" in 3D, creating a persistent space where different illustrative elements can be configured for messaging and campaigns.