Graham Slick

Every project UX, Design

Rational Unicorn

Choose Your Venture, a phone guide to choosing a first business entity, for the Portland law firm Rational Unicorn Legal Services, designed at EyeCue Lab.

When
2020
Role
UX and UI design
At
EyeCue Lab
For
Rational Unicorn Legal Services, Portland

Rational Unicorn Legal Services is a Portland law firm for small businesses, nonprofits, and artists and entertainers. In 2020, at EyeCue Lab, Graham designed Choose Your Venture for it, “an interactive guide to your first business entity,” for phones. He used the firm’s own brand: its teal and raspberry, and its unicorn in glasses and a bow tie, enlarged and faded into the background.

The guide asks a few questions, one screen at a time. “We are all at different places in life. That’s ok. Which of these best describes you”: a craft or hobby you’re thinking of making into a business, art you’d like to make your business, a nonprofit, a business already formed, or not sure. Each answer opens a card that explains it, to close or confirm. The next question asks who will own and manage the business: just you, you and one partner, or a board of directors. At the end comes a cheat sheet (setting up an LLC, getting an EIN, trademarking your name, a business checking account, quarterly taxes) to email to yourself, download as a PDF or take to the firm.

He worked out the motion, too, frame by frame: pressing Start draws a thin line from the button to the first question, and the screen slides along it; each answer leads to the next question the same way. The PDF of the cheat sheet carries the same look.

Roles UX design · UI design · Interaction design

The start screen: CHOOSE YOUR VENTURE in big white capitals and An interactive guide to your first business entity in raspberry serif type, over a faded drawing of a unicorn in glasses and a bow tie on teal, with a white Start button
The start
The first question, along a thin line down the left: We are all at different places in life. That’s ok. Which of these best describes you, with five answers, from a craft or hobby to make into a business to not sure, above Start Over, Back and Help buttons
The first question
A card for the answer about making your art your business, with a raspberry header, placeholder text and Close and Confirm buttons, over the dimmed question
An answer, explained
The second question: How would you describe your business in terms of who will own and manage it? Just me as the sole owner and manager, me and one business partner, a board of directors, or I’m not sure
The second question
Your Cheat Sheet: setting up an LLC, getting an EIN number, trademarking your name, getting a business checking account and setting up quarterly taxes, with Email Me, Download PDF and Contact Rational Unicorn buttons
The cheat sheet
Emailing the cheat sheet: a white card headed Choose Your Venture, Your Cheat Sheet, Presented by Rational Unicorn, with the five steps, an email field, a box to ask the firm to get in touch, and Close and Send buttons
Emailing it
The cheat sheet as a letter-size PDF: CHOOSE YOUR VENTURE over the faded unicorn on teal, the five steps under Your Venture Cheat Sheet, a Contact Rational Unicorn button, and the firm’s Portland address in a raspberry band at the foot
The PDF
A frame of the motion: the Start button pressed, with a thin line running from its point to the right edge of the screen
Pressing Start
The next frame: the title slides off to the left as the first question comes in from the right along the line
Sliding to the first question
An answer chosen: its white arrow-shaped tab points along a line to the second question, How would you describe your business, sliding in from the right
On to the next question