Summer Research Refresh
This is the summer you’ll be sitting pretty on top of some seriously impactful business insights because you hired out for your user research.
Boss moves.
User Research can be fun & vibey!
BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED
This is you’re standard PDF full of text and graphs. It’s a magazine filled with inspiration, examples, photos and friendly maps
Unique to your work
This research isn’t based on trends. It’s based on your people, your work and your impact. Every document and map is uniquely yours!
VALUE-CENTERED
Process based problem solving is so over. Planning next moves based on what your community needs to succeed is where it’s at.

What do you want to know?
HOW IT WORKS:
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User research is observing and listening to your past and future clients, current audience and other people in your sphere to find out more about how they use your service or product.
You can gain insights into what your community actually needs and wants.
My research approach is human-centered, neurodivergent friendly, and visually beautiful.
☑️ Unique to Your Niche
☑️ Delightfully colorful and fun surveys
☑️ Empathetic and engaging interviews
☑️ Visually clear infographics and insights
☑️ Neurodivergent friendly presentation of findings❌ chasing trends
❌ hounding people with old boring surveys
❌ wordy PDFs full of random data
❌ giant number-filled spreadsheets
❌ pushy interviews -
You’ll get the O.I.C.U. Report.
A visually translated research report with the following maps and data:
Empathy Map: What are your people dealing with right now?
Stakeholder Map: Who is affected by your offering these days?
Client Journey Map: Where does your business fit in your client’s current direction?
Sensory Cue Interviews: What do people think and feel about your industry?
Questionnaire results and insights: Niched questions
Persona (Value-based): What do your people care about these days?
Gaps and possibilities: Where can you plug in and play?
Wanna see examples of these maps? View here
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4 Things:
Attend 1 Vision Mapping Session
(at the beginning)Contacts for past and dream clients
(at the beginning) *It’s okay if you don’t have theseAttend the presentation meeting
(at the end)Share your feedback from the experience
(at the end)
That’s it!
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If you’re adjusting or fixing gaps in a current service/product, I will ask for a past and current client list and will reach out to them and find similar people on social/search to reach out to. All interviews and surveys are very human and fun and will only make you look cooler ;-)
If you’re building something new I will find people to interview based on our initial vision mapping session, secondary research at the beginning and asking for recommendations from people I talk with to build up a list.
The final lists will be shared in the guide too :-)
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Questionnaires can annoying if done in a way that makes people feel like a number on a list. I personalize requests and make the interviews and questionnaires a fun experience for your people so they’ll walk away from the experience knowing more about themselves.
Questionnaires: Have pictures, are colorful, give a kind welcome and sign off message, are 30 questions or less.
Interviews: Are structured like vision mapping sessions, or we collage, talk about pictures, put together Pinterest boards together, whichever would give me the information we need for your research, but it’s still fun!
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Turns out it is! Artists are all about observing, asking questions and then putting those findings into our art.
In this case, I get to visually translate data that helps your business! Just another form of art (design) that helps you bring your idea into the world!
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Yes you can! There is an entire DIY research section in the OIC if you would like some guidance or want to follow the processes I use. Otherwise, have fun!
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It’s a good fit if:
Research feels overwhelming for you
Your sales have gone down
You want to know your ideal client better
You need relevant copy for marketing
You want what you sense internally to be checked and gathered in one place
You want to get something done while you’re summering
Not a good fit if:
You already do your own user research and it’s working
You aren’t pivoting or looking to grow your business this year
Your experience is seamless
You don’t trust research
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Launches September 7th at 8:44pm EST and Closes May 20th at 4:50pm (Summer Solstice) so we can get started to complete over the summer.
There are only 3 spots available. So if those fill up I’ll close the cart sooner.
If you know your audience isn’t available over the summer for interviews then you can select a different research time window but this offering is only for sale between June 7th and June 20th.
DEEPER DETAILS:
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$980 (pay all at once or break it into 2 monthly payments of $490)
No scholarships for this service yet.
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Refunds are available based on the amount of work already completed.
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Absolutely! You can reach out by email and I reply within 48 hours.
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This is a 2 month long service. If I have trouble getting a hold of interviewees I will let you know right away so we can adjust the timing to fit your audience better.
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You’ll need internet access for our check-in meetings.
We’ll use Zoom or Google Meet for our chats.
The vision mapping session at the beginning of the process takes 90 minutes.
The presentation meeting at the end of the process takes 1 hour.
The time it takes to gather contact information depends on how organized that information is in your system.
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I can include whatever you already have but it’s not required. The starter vision mapping session will help me land on what you already know and what you want to know.
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No worries! User research is a great place to start. If you’re building something new I will find people to interview based on our initial vision mapping session, secondary research at the beginning and asking for recommendations from people I talk with to build up a list.
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Artificial Intelligence has made research easier and faster. Cool!
But it also bases insights off of the average person which can lead to biases and unfair solutions. Boo!
Here’s what to know:
Everyone else is using it which means your research and decision making won’t stand out or innovate if you only rely on AI.
That’s why I combine AI with real human interactions and my own design thinking experience to craft your research report.
Here’s how I use AI:
Finding and speed reading journals
Generating words for search.
I use good old human intuition and sticky notes to identify trends, insights and possible gaps.
My research lens is sustainability and ethics focused.
Many small businesses don’t conduct regular user research to better the experience.
They create something, convince people to buy it and then gather testimonials for more marketing. Taking time to talk to the people you currently help and want to help about their lives and goals will set your business apart as AI and monopolies continue to grow.
Do you have the research you need to make informed decisions?

The Summer Research Refresh is Summer camp for your biz.
It’ll come back with new friends, a beautiful camp journal and lots of innovative ideas for the future.
At the end of the summer you’ll get…
The O.I.C.U. Report
A visually translated research report includes MAPS like these:
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Stakeholder Map
Who is affected by your offering these days?
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Client Journey Map
Where does your business fit in your client’s current direction?
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Sensory Cue Interviews
How do people talk about your work and your industry?
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Empathy Map
What are your people dealing with right now?
The exact maps and visually translated information in your report is unique to your business. These are examples.
View full guidebooks and research reports in my portfolio here.

BWB
“We see Illustrative as a true creative partner for design with an accessibility lens + strategy + ideation. The work is beautiful and always knocks it out of the park!”
123 Petits Pas
“Working with Laura is like having a business partner.”
Raising Yourself
“Working with Laura was like taking the tangled-up yarn of my ideas in my mind and weaving them into a beautiful blanket.”
Oh, did I mention I’m Lextant Certified!!