Squad Bay App
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My first and main project while working at VML (formerly known as Wunderman Thompson) was the redesign of the US Marine Corps' Squad Bay app. The app is the main utility the USMC Recruiting Command, one of the company's longest-running clients, uses to reach students aspiring to join the Marines and manage them through the process of becoming a Recruit. Squad Bay had been initially developed over 10 years ago, and while receiving regular updates before I arrived at VML, it was showing its age. The legacy codebase was becoming harder to upgrade and maintain, and the look and feel became obsolete as other parts of the USMC brand evolved.
I, along with the UX team, was tasked with a full top-to-bottom redesign, from redefining the information architecture to defining a modern design system. As the app is used by Marine Recruiters and aspiring Recruits, we wanted to ensure that the navigation was as consistent as possible for all user types. The SB design system was based on Material Design 3, which allowed for much faster development of the app with available component libraries and builders.
Developing the design system allowed for rapid prototyping of wireframes as we translated our user flows from diagrams to mockups. We made sure that components were translated as best as possible from the old app to the new app, providing UX enhancements to the more complicated component groups. Additionally, we made sure to update the overall user flow, carrying over good parts of the UX while improving the less-than-successful parts of the old user experience.
Working cross-functionally with the product and dev teams, we were able to redesign and rebuild the Squad Bay app in 18 months, with the new app launching in September 2024. The launch was a culmination of thousands of hours of work across many teams, with the end goal of realizing a modern user experience to engage young, dedicated prospects to the USMC.
The new code base, built on React, allows us to keep the app up-to-date and rapidly deploy new features and incremental updates. The launch of the new app saw increased engagement -- a near doubling in new users in the first month of release and, as of recently, an almost 10% increase in the user base month-over-month.