Vasar
About Vasar
Vasar is a manufacturing startup that helps founders go from idea to production with expert-backed design, fast prototyping, and scalable manufacturing. I joined the team to design their full marketing site, positioning them as a modern, credible partner for early-stage hardware companies. This project ran for 4 weeks, where I owned UX/UI design, information architecture, visual direction, wireframes, high-fidelity design, and developer handoff. I collaborated directly with the CEO and CTO, partnering closely with engineering to ensure components aligned with their Next.js and Tailwind stack.
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
TIMELINE
4 Weeks
Location
Remote
Tool Stack
Figma
ChatGPT
Claude
The challenge
Founders visiting Vasar’s site struggled to understand what Vasar offered, how the process worked, and why they should trust a new manufacturing partner. This created friction in their sales funnel, lowering inbound quality and slowing early validation. Without a clearer narrative and structure, Vasar risked losing credibility with the exact audience they needed to reach quickly: non-technical founders building physical products.
Constraints and assumptions
The timeline was tight (4 weeks, 10 hrs/week).
Needed to build within an existing engineering stack (Next.js + Tailwind).
Design needed to feel serious, precise, futuristic while remaining accessible to non-engineers.
No existing copy, visual direction, or brand system - everything started from scratch.
Assumed founders had minimal manufacturing knowledge and needed clarity without jargon.
Research approach
Competitive analysis of 5 founder-facing manufacturing sites to understand tone, clarity, and visual patterns.
Stakeholder interviews with founders to clarify positioning, value props, and differentiation.
Light user research through conversations with early-stage founders to understand mental models around manufacturing.
Content audit of Vasar’s internal notes, processes, and engineering workflows.
Key behaviors I aimed to understand:
How founders evaluate manufacturing partners
What builds trust for non-technical users
What level of technical detail helps vs overwhelms
Key insights
1. Founders care about speed and clarity more than technical depth.
The site needed to simplify manufacturing, not teach it.
2. Vasar’s differentiator is expertise, not equipment.
The brand needed to feel confident and “quietly expert.”
3. Testimonials and real parts dramatically increase trust.
Social proof needed to be a core part of the homepage.
4. Users needed a clear start point.A strong CTA (“Start Your Prototype” / “Get a Quote”) needed clear hierarchy.
The opportunity
Founders need a simple way to understand what Vasar does, why it’s different, and how to get started.
Vasar needs a marketing site that builds trust, reduces confusion, and drives qualified inbound leads.
Therefore, the design should focus on clarity, credibility, and a strong narrative from concept to prototype to production.
Design goals
Clarify Vasar’s value proposition for non-technical founders
Establish credibility through strong visual direction and testimonials
Guide users into the funnel with clear CTAs and simplified steps
Explain the process simply without jargon
Measuring Success
Success indicators: decreased founder confusion, higher CTA engagement, clear narrative validation from stakeholders.
Ideation
I explored three visual directions: Industrial Futurism, Minimal Precision, and Bold & Scalable. Each focused on different dimensions of credibility; from high-tech to design-led to startup-forward. I created moodboards, typography explorations, and UI references to align with engineering constraints and brand tone.
Early sketches focused on structuring the content: hero clarity, “How it Works,” materials & capabilities, testimonials, and the founder story.
Final Solution
Homepage Structure
Problem: Users couldn't quickly understand what Vasar does.
Decision: Clear hero with a strong subline.
Rationale: Tested phrasing that resonated most with founders.
Impact: Immediate clarity + stronger value perception.
Three-step process (Product Development > Prototype > Production)
Problem: Manufacturing feels opaque to non-engineers.
Decision: Visual, simple 3-step explanation.
Rationale: Matches user mental model: idea → shape → scale.
Impact: Reduced cognitive load, improved comprehension.
Capabilities & Materials section
Problem: Users didn’t understand what Vasar could actually make.
Decision: Break down processes using founder-friendly language.
Impact: Higher clarity without overwhelming technical content.
Founder section with technical vector portraits
Problem: Early-stage companies need human credibility.
Decision: Professional headshots and short bios of founders.
Impact: Serious yet modern tone → trust-building.
Testimonials + client logos
Problem: Need stronger social proof.
Decision: High-visibility testimonial slider on homepage.
Impact: Increased trust and legitimacy.
Collaboration and Execution
I worked closely with the CTO to ensure all components aligned with their Next.js + Tailwind system. We held two design-engineering syncs per week to refine feasibility, ensure responsive behavior, and share progress in Figma. Designs were delivered with annotations, component specs, and states.
Usability Testing and iterations
I ran quick usability reviews with 3 founders outside the team to validate clarity. Findings led to:
Simplifying technical terminology
Strengthening CTA hierarchy
Reordering the “How it Works” and “Capabilities” sections
Improving line lengths and spacing for readability
Results and impact
Although the site is early in rollout, early signals include:
Stakeholders reported a clearer narrative and stronger brand feel
Founders in testing completed key tasks faster
The team aligned on a long-term visual direction
Site now supports scalable inbound motion (quote requests + prototypes)
Next steps
Add interactive demos to explain complex processes more visually
Build out a structured pricing/quote tool
Expand testimonials into case studies tied to conversion metrics
Reflection
This project strengthened my ability to simplify technical complexity and design for users who feel out of their depth. I learned how to work quickly within engineering constraints while still creating a cohesive brand system. Most importantly, it pushed me to think like a partner to the business, not just a designer.
