Decisis is a streamlined, cost-effective legal research platform from LexisNexis, built for solo practitioners, small firms, and state bar associations. I helped shape its brand and landing page experience, from naming and logo exploration to customer-tested page designs.
LexisNexis wanted to offer a lower-priced product for customers who want to research legal questions and understand legal concepts without a full subscription. To give the product room to grow, the team wanted it to feel distinct from the core LexisNexis brand.
Purpose A separate brand would let Decisis stand on its own, apart from LexisNexis's core product offerings.
Direction Direction Working with UX designers, I created concepts that balanced marketing and product goals to give Decisis its own identity. We explored names such as LexisLite and Decisis that would communicate the product's purpose at a glance.
Explorations and Testing Explorations and Testing We tested landing page variations with different color palettes, call-to-action designs, and messaging. Customers responded differently to each change, which helped us narrow in on the strongest direction.
Outcome Outcome After customer testing, color exploration, and naming experiments, the product moved into development as Decisis. Although it's positioned as a lower-tier offering, it has a distinct, independent brand built around the features its customers need most.
We explored three product names, Decisis, Remedy, and Merit, each with its own logo design. We tested each concept with customers to learn which name and product experience resonated most.
Each name was paired with a range of color treatments, from teal and blue to violet and magenta, to see how color shaped first impressions of the product.
Alongside the visual exploration, we researched our target audience to understand what solo practitioners and small firms needed from a research tool. That research guided the user experience direction we carried forward.
The landing page puts search front and center. Users can enter a term or phrase, filter by category and jurisdiction, and start researching right away, without needing to learn a complex interface.
This flow shows how a user moves from a broad search to focused results. Filters for jurisdiction, court, and content type help users find the most relevant material quickly, keeping the experience simple for people who may be new to legal research.
Working with product managers, we tested 5 variations of the landing page design with customers to receive feedback and to understand which direction we should approach afterwards.
Positive: “It's simple, not distracting, and I know exactly what to do.”
Negative: “Search for Legal content easily and efficiently'. That's a challenge to my abilities or implying I'm incompetent or stupid. (implies I need help/assistance?) I'd recommend you break down the results into categories (theory - CA Witkins type discussion; Federal Case Law decision; state law decisions - age the decisions - this year, last year, last 5 years - then a user can look to theory and possible trends in decisions); but that's the results page; as for the search page - sometimes people just throw word out to see what pops up. I do federal taxation. Research 'Taxable Income/ Restaurants' and you'll see 10 million results - you could have a summary page breaking down the results like I suggested above.”
Positive: “I don't want art work when I do research, I want to look at something that tells me it is a research tool. When I research, I want to get down to work, with a tool that facilitates work.”
Negative: “An icon relating to the legal profession would let me know instantly that it was related to the legal field. Justice scales, gavel, etc.”
Positive: “I like this the most as its bold, modern and easier to navigate. for some reason, white backgrounds irritate the eyes.”
Negative: “Maybe the black is too dark. Possibly a lighter shade that still contrasts with the mint green”
Positive: “This design is very inviting. The soft edges is somewhat comforting. I breath of fresh air compared to stuffy legal profession.”
Negative: “Not much but I am not sure that many older attorneys will find this attractive. May seem a little childish to them.”
Positive: “Immediately indicates I'm on a legal website. Puts the category targeting tools easily at hand -- I'm on the website to get stuff done quickly and making the search narrowing tools available up front, as early as possible, is important.”
Negative: “The Gavel banner is a little "dense" and a bit of a cliche”
Of 90 that preferred the Gavel design:
- 34 users stated they liked the designs because of the category options available; many users felt the category options would be good additions to the other designs
- 25 users preferred to remove or change the Gavel image while only 7 mentioned liking it
- 13 users mentioned they would like to see more or bolder color choices in the design
All the designs were perceived as easy to use in general:
- The courthouse design was perceived as light, fun and friendly, but 6 users mentioned it could use more color
- 10 of the 21 users who liked the Lady justice design liked it for the color and boldness, although a few felt it could be lightened or contrasted differently
- 12 of 26 users felt the white gray and blue design was easy to use, but came off as generic
- 12 of 30 users liked the dark blue design for how clean it was and 11 of these users felt it was straightforward and to the point, focused on the task at hand
Comparison of individual assessments:
This chart marks the level of feedback of which customers preferred one design over the other.
These designs show how the product could look under different brand directions. We tested them with customers to guide product decisions and confirm our target market.
Throughout the landing page iterations, I experimented with a range of serif and sans-serif typefaces to find the right balance of authority and approachability. The options I tested are shown below.
I developed four color palettes for the landing page concepts, ranging from calm teals and greens to bolder violets and magentas. Each was designed to feel modern and trustworthy, setting Decisis apart from more traditional legal research tools.
These alternate layouts explore different ways to balance search with supporting content, such as help resources and getting-started guides. Comparing them side by side helped the team decide what users should see on their first visit.
These early concepts tested other product names, including Amicus, The Bar, and Island, along with a variety of layouts and visual styles. They laid the groundwork for the direction that became Decisis.
Role Product branding, naming exploration, visual design, and UI design
Completed 2020, as part of my work at LexisNexis
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