Simplifying the 3D Journey
UX Strategy Behind Adobe’s Largest Substance 3D Campaign
Role: UX Design Lead
Skills: Website design | UX/UI | Visual Design | Art direction | Figma prototypes | Web ads | Flyers | Photoshop expertise | Motion graphics | Video editing | UX research | Rapid prototyping | Personas | sizzle reels
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Overview
During Q4 in 2024, Adobe launched their biggest Substance 3D campaign to date: "Create Without Limits" -positioning Substance 3D as the industry standard for 3D content creation. The campaign targets both existing Adobe users looking to expand into 3D and new users from gaming, architecture, and product design industries.
This project helped Adobe Substance 3D users understand which tools they need from the complex software suite and converts more visitors into paying customers by providing clear, targeted messaging for different industries.
Team
1 UX Design Lead
1 Content Specialist
1 Manager
Tools
Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Microsoft Teams
Slack
Dropbox
Miro
​Framer AI
Adobe Firefly
Claude AI
Timeframe
3 months
Why redesign?
During Q4 in 2024, Adobe launched their biggest Substance 3D campaign to date: "Create Without Limits" -positioning Substance 3D as the industry standard for 3D content creation. The campaign targets both existing Adobe users looking to expand into 3D and new users from gaming, architecture, and product design industries.
This project helped Adobe Substance 3D users understand which tools they need from the complex software suite and converts more visitors into paying customers by providing clear, targeted messaging for different industries.
Poor user journey:
Users struggle to understand which Substance 3D app suits their needs
Low trial-to-subscription conversion: Only 12% of trial users convert to paid plans
Fragmented experience: Each app (Painter, Designer, Sampler, Stager, Modeler) feels disconnected
Overwhelming for beginners: Complex 3D terminology intimidates newcomers
Weak social proof: Success stories and community showcase are buried
Lack of Education: more tutorials in software categories to help 3D be more accessible for all
Objectives
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Increase trial sign-ups by 40%
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Improve trial-to-paid conversion to 20%
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Establish Substance 3D as the go-to 3D creation suite
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Build community engagement and user-generated content showcase
Design Challenges
Redesign the Substance 3D website experience to support the "Create Without Limits"campaign launch, focusing on user journey optimization and conversion improvement.​
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Technical Constraints
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Must integrate with existing Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem
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Support for multiple subscription tiers and pricing models
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Mobile-responsive design (30% of traffic is mobile)
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Integration with Adobe's authentication and trial systems
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Brand Guidelines
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Showcase the creative potential and professional quality
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Balance technical information with inspirational content
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Maintain consistency with other Adobe product pages
Business Constraints
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Launch timeline: 12 weeks from design to live
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Must support A/B testing for conversion optimization
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Integration with existing marketing automation tools
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Compliance with Adobe's accessibility standards
Research & Strategy
User Persona development
With in-house research, and my UX research skillset, I was able to develop 3 unique user personas to help shift the focus from internal preferences to the actual needs and behaviors of the target audience.
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Persona 1: The 2D Designer Expanding to 3D
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Arya, a graphic designer, wants to add 3D skills but feels overwhelmed by technical complexity. She needs to understand learning paths and see relevant use cases.
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Persona 2: The Gaming Professional Evaluating Tools
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Mike, a game developer, is comparing Substance 3D to Blender and other tools. They need technical specs, pricing clarity, and evidence of industry adoption.
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Persona 3: The Creative Student on Budget
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Isaiah, a design student, wants professional tools but has budget constraints. They need to understand educational pricing and career benefits.
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Usability Studied Mockups
Based on the insights of an internal usability study and heat map, bright colors and custom images were added to draw focus and additional CTA buttons added.
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User journey mapping
Analytics of the customer experience from the previous web design compared to the new high-fidelity prototype showed significant improvements while revealing the customer journey and pain points (which were modified before launch)
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AI-powered competitive analysis
By integrating AI tools like Claude during the research phase, we accelerated competitive analysis—uncovering that Blender leads with community and open access, Cinema 4D appeals to motion graphics professionals with premium positioning, and Autodesk’s Maya/3ds Max dominate enterprise workflows. This insight revealed a key opportunity for Adobe Substance 3D to differentiate by positioning itself as a cohesive, Creative Cloud-native ecosystem—unlike competitors who treat each tool as a standalone product.
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Key user needs
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modeling (creating 3D objects)
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texturing (applying realistic materials)
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rendering (generating final images)
Users need integrated workflows that seamlessly connect these distinct but closely integrated steps in the 3D production process. They also require intuitive interfaces that balance powerful professional features with usability, as advanced tools often struggle with user-friendly interfaces.​
Design Solutions
Information Architecture
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Site map redesign: Restructure navigation and page hierarchy
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Homepage: Campaign landing and product overview
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Product Comparison Page: Help users choose the right app(s)
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Trial/Onboarding Flow: Streamlined path from interest to first use
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Learning Hub Page: Tutorials and resources for skill building ​
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Content prioritization: Features knowledge and purchase/free trial CTA
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Custom visual design elements
Design Rational
These UX decisions collectively address Adobe's core challenge: helping users understand and successfully adopt a complex software suite:
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Unified Product Navigation: Creating a clear app comparison and selection flow addresses user confusion about which Substance 3D tool they need. This directly impacts Adobe's trial-to-paid conversion by reducing abandonment and ensuring users start with the right tool for their workflow.
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Industry-Specific Landing Paths: Tailoring content and messaging for gaming, product design, and architecture professionals allows Adobe to demonstrate relevant use cases and ROI for each sector. This targeted approach increases qualified trial sign-ups and positions Substance 3D as essential for professional workflows.
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Integrated Creative Cloud Messaging: Emphasizing seamless integration with existing Adobe tools (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects) reduces switching friction for current Adobe customers. This drives cross-selling revenue and increases customer lifetime value by expanding their Creative Cloud usage.
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Streamlined Trial Onboarding: Simplifying the path from interest to first successful project creation reduces the learning curve barrier that causes trial abandonment. A smoother onboarding experience directly improves the 12% to 20% conversion rate goal and reduces customer acquisition costs.
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AI-Integrated UX Solutions: Integrated AI tools (Framer AI, Adobe Firefly, and generative asset workflows) into web design to optimize creative iterations and enhance visual storytelling.
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These decisions translated to higher conversion rates, increased subscription revenue, and stronger market positioning against competitors like Blender and Cinema 4D.
Conclusion: Success and next steps
The project was scheduled for 3 months but, due to my UX/UI and Visual Design experience and insight into the software we launched the redesigned website at the beginning of Q4 (2 weeks early) giving the department more time to focus on other ways to promote the new website.
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Paid Social (Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit, Youtube) Static and Video ads contributed to ~10k new visitors per week to the newly updated Substance 3D website. (Paid +4% and Organic +7%) resulting to an increase of order for the Substance 3D softwares for 2024 Q3 target achievement goal.
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Additional campaign assets
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social and display ads
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handout flyer
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pr video
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gifs
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Industry-specific landing pages (ongoing)
