In Conversation with Richard: The Vision for Canvas

Written by Sophie

Meet the brains behind Canvas – Richard spoke to us about his role at Watermelon and his vision for Canvas.

What’s your vision for Canvas?

Simplicity is at the heart of Canvas. Surveys and dashboards are just the tools to get to the insight, they shouldn’t bury it in complexity, so I set out to create something intuitive that would enable users to focus on what really matters – using the data to inform transformative change.

There’s no lengthy training or onboarding process for Canvas. Users simply log in and are guided through how to create a survey or build a dashboard. Integrations are simple too - we know that clients rely on a range of platforms and want to keep their data in-house, so we’ve made it easy to plug Canvas in without any prior technical knowledge.

Finally, Canvas also has a straightforward cost model.  Clients can’t always predict how many completed surveys or dashboard users they need upfront, so our pricing is flexible and transparent, making it easy for users to scale without the fear of unexpected costs holding them back.

What does “designed for CX experts, by CX experts” mean to you?

We’re not a tech startup or a heavily backed venture, Canvas really has been developed by a team of CX professionals with firsthand experience. We understand the client perspective because we’ve sat in their shoes, scripting surveys and developing dashboards using the tools already available on the market. We became accustomed to navigating the limitations of these other platforms but knew there had to be a better way. This frustration fuelled my drive to create a simple, intuitive platform designed to truly meet user needs, and so the vision for Canvas began to take shape. Developing tech is no small undertaking but, having already led the development of our project management tool, Wilson, I knew how to galvanise a team around a shared vision.

I’m lucky to work with people who are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about what we are building. They constantly bring fresh and innovative ideas to the table, pushing us to grow and improve. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but I know we’re just getting started - the future of Canvas is exciting, and I can’t wait for everyone to see where we go next.

What feature are you most proud of?

It’s got to be Flow which is a revolutionary way to visualise survey routing. Other survey platforms typically display survey logic in a linear fashion which becomes increasingly confusing to follow as programmes scale and grow in complexity. Flow takes this headache away by displaying all the routing paths in an intuitive and visually engaging way, making it easy to trace a respondent’s journey from start to finish as well as pick up on any routing errors before it’s too late.

For me, Flow perfectly reflects our vision for Canvas because it adapts and scales to different user needs. Technical users can leverage Flow to build complex survey pathways whereas non-technical users can use the intuitive interface to auto-create a logical survey flow and instantly see who gets asked which questions and in what order, without any prior knowledge of research or technology.

How do you see Canvas evolving in the future?

We’ve got big plans for the reporting side of the platform to make it easier for users to specify their requirements through drag and drop options. We’ll also be utilising AI more, where it makes sense to do so, rather than as a gimmicky add-on. We’re currently developing some exciting new features including AI-powered support with writing questionnaires, analysing data and making evidence-based recommendations that drive ROI.

Fun question to end on - what’s your favourite video game and why?

Right now it’s Forza Horizon because it suits my life perfectly. With two young kids, my gaming time is limited so, when I do get a rare window to play, I need something I can get stuck into straight away without having to navigate loads of menus and options. The graphics are incredible and it’s so simple I’ve been teaching my 3-year-old how to play… he’s not winning any races just yet but he loves seeing how fast he can make the car go before a big crash!

We used the same principles when designing Canvas. It’s intuitive, with no steep learning curve or unnecessary barriers, and it looks great so it’s a nice user-experience. Simply put, we’ve made Canvas powerfully simple so users can focus on what really matters.

Canvas – powerfully simple, so you can focus on what matters.

To find out more, go to www.watermelonresearch.com/canvas