RYTEBOX™
- Tullie Design
- Apr 23
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 24
In an industry often criticized for being unfair, unclear, and exploitative—one that has historically undervalued the very talent upon which it is built—RYTEBOX™ reimagined more than just contract management. We delivered a comprehensive solution that supports the entire artist ecosystem, from cataloging and relationship management to enterprise reporting, revenue and royalty tracking, and an integrated networking system, among other features.
For an artist, there’s little more exhilarating than signing that first contract—and hopefully many more to come. However, if the terms and obligations are unclear or unmet, it can be detrimental to long-term success and sustainability in the industry.
The music industry doesn’t just offer an artist money without being recouped (with interest).
"I’m an Artist, it’s not by job to know contracts - I will have someone else do it for me. It’s my job to make music and be creative" - Countless Musicians
The above quote paraphrases much of the same sentiment that some of the famous artists have said - Artists like little Richard, TLC and the Beatles murmured something the same as they signed their contracts with no idea about what was involved with them and ended up paying a dear price for them.
Problem
Most business today is conducted through contracts, but the information within them can be dense and difficult to understand—even in the simplest cases. From ownership and percentages to payment streams, rights, and obligations, the details can quickly become overwhelming. It’s easy to lose track of who owns what, when payments are due, or how contractual shifts affect all parties involved.
The challenge was to simplify this complexity and provide artists and their affiliates with a clear understanding of their rights and obligations throughout the contract’s lifecycle—and even beyond.
Given that contracts are often dynamic and subject to change, these shifts can have immediate, global impacts on revenue, relationships, and rights. Ensuring that all parties are aligned and informed in real time became a key priority.
Solution
We developed a robust platform that not only simplifies contract details into clear, understandable terms but also provides users with a holistic view of their entire artistic portfolio.
RYTEBOX™ delivers a fast, secure, and seamless system that instantly adapts to the dynamic and evolving nature of both data and contract terms, keeping up with ongoing changes in time and obligations.
Ultimately, we put the power back into the hands of artists and their teams, giving them full control over their careers and contractual agreements.
How it started
When I joined, the platform was built with basic wireframes and a monochrome color scheme, focused primarily on functionality.
The challenge was that the team lacked a UX designer who understood the needs of users—particularly artists—who may not be familiar with the intricacies of contracts. The platform was being developed by people who understood the technical layers of a contract but not the natural flow an artist would need to truly understand and engage with the terms of their agreement.
Because of the proprietary nature of the platform, our scope of user testing was limited to investors who wanted to be able to see the real-time results that RYTEBOX™ was delivering.
To bring the platform to life we did extensive testing on colors and built out the color scheme to bring the platform to life for those able bodied and visually disabled users.
The UX of U-Eye: Accessibility
Whilst the greys provided some depth of the page and their elements, it felt drab and lifeless.
Extensive color blind testing in house with color blind members on the team to make sure the colors passed. While some of the use cases like Achromatopsia make It almost Impossible for users with the condition to make out any color difference. (Achromatopsia: very rare and most severe form of colorblindness, impossible to see any color)
The most common type of color vision deficiency makes it hard to tell the difference between red and green.
Deuteranomaly is the most common type of red-green color vision deficiency. It makes certain shades of green look more red
Defining the navigation: Best Practices
When I joined the project, the initial design featured two types of navigation: a static top nav with a help desk and profile icon, and a static left nav acting as a secondary navigation/sub-nav.
Our first suggestion was to streamline the navigation into either a top or left nav. Given the app’s information architecture and the number of headers it would need, we decided a static left nav with a collapsible sub-nav would reduce clutter and create more vertical space.
We opted for icon-only navigation, despite the common UX principle of spelling out labels. The headers were too long, so we chose to have the item names slide out on hover, acting like a tooltip without the delay. This approach would help new users better understand the navigation.
Expanding and Collapsing Sub-Nav without interfering with Page data
With so much information to present on a single page, our goal was to display as much as possible without overwhelming the user or causing eye fatigue. By adding a collapsible sub-nav to the left, we were able to expand and contract the page content without cluttering the screen.
Clicking on the main nav icons would slide the sub-nav out, which remained open until the user either closed it or made a new selection.
We also provided a toggle in the top-right corner of the left nav to keep the sub-nav open. However, in later testing, we discovered that once users became familiar with the platform, the sticky central information wasn’t necessary. We could simplify the experience by removing the collapse feature and allowing the user to close the sub-nav by clicking outside of it.
Introducing the Dashboard : Dashboard design & Filtering in on dashboard elements
How do you take a black-and-white, text-heavy contract and make it feel understandable, flexible, and even enjoyable to navigate—without overwhelming the user?
We focused on simplicity—though that’s often easier said than done. The goal was to present a high-level snapshot that felt approachable, with the option to dive deeper when needed.
The interface was designed as a guided, intuitive experience—one that allowed users to navigate complex contractual information without getting lost in legal jargon or data overload.
Despite the varied obligations and requirements buried within a contract, we aimed to keep the design light, clean, and purposeful. No clutter. No unnecessary icons, colors, or side notes—just clear pathways through the content, built to support understanding rather than distract from it.
The result? A contract that works like a dynamic, living document—adaptable to changing terms and timelines, but always easy to interpret at a glance.
We wanted to give the opening dashboard a highlight of : What is the most important information on the page and what do they NEED to take immediate action on? Otherwise, to give them a overview of their contract and obligations
Tab View
Contracts can be dense and difficult to navigate, especially when they're broken down into multiple, similarly named sections. In this case, the contract was divided into six primary components: Basics, Rights Periods, Rights, Rates, Payee, and Consents—each with its own unique set of details.
Many of these sections contain legal terms that sound similar but refer to entirely different obligations. On paper, this often causes confusion and makes it hard for users to pinpoint where they are within a contract or what actions they're responsible for.
To simplify the experience, we designed a tabbed interface that presents all components of a contract on a single page. This allowed users to easily switch between sections—like flipping through pages—without losing context or orientation.
Each tab displays a read-only view of the contract. For users with editing permissions, actionable items (like edit or delete) were available via a discreet Kebab menu within each line item, maintaining a clean and focused interface.
Why It Works
Context is preserved: Users always know which section they're in.
Cognitive load is reduced: Only one component is shown at a time.
Terminology is clarified: Similar-sounding legal terms are visually separated and easier to distinguish.
Action is intuitive: Edits are accessible only when appropriate, keeping the interface simple for read-only users.
This approach allowed us to turn a traditionally complex and text-heavy document into something clear, interactive, and far more manageable.
Editable vs. Static: Designing with Intention
In this system, most users—typically artists—experience their contract view as read-only. Their interaction is meant to be informational, not interactive. However, for users responsible for creating or editing contracts, we needed a clear and intentional way to differentiate between static and editable states.
One challenge was that editors often began entering data before realizing they needed additional information to complete a section. This led to the question:"Shouldn’t I be able to edit inline and have it auto-save?"
Our answer was no—and for good reason.
Contracts are high-stakes documents. A small edit or accidental change can have serious downstream effects, not only for the artist but also for their teams and collaborators.
To address this, we implemented a drawer-based editing experience. Rather than editing inline with auto-save, users must intentionally open a drawer to make changes. This creates a clear separation between viewing and editing, giving users a moment to pause and confirm their actions.
Initially, the system included auto-save functionality, but we moved away from it to promote more deliberate input. Every change now requires a conscious confirmation—helping prevent errors and encouraging more thoughtful contract management.
Notifications, Conflicts & Warnings (in Edit Mode)
To help ensure contract accuracy, we introduced inline warnings that appear during editing when required fields are left incomplete or when entered values don’t meet validation criteria (e.g., totals not adding up correctly).
These alerts are persistent and block users from saving their input until the issue is resolved. This approach prevents incomplete or invalid data from being submitted and helps users identify and address conflicts in real time—keeping contract integrity intact and reducing the risk of downstream errors.
Notifications & Conflicts in Static View
In the static state, notifications and conflicts were displayed top-down within the dashboard. These persistent alerts highlighted any unresolved issues or incomplete data entries, allowing users to quickly identify and drill into specific areas needing attention.
Conflicts and warnings served as proactive indicators for a range of critical contract-related items, including:
Unfinished or missing data inputs
Upcoming deadlines or milestones
Contract updates or changes
Obligation reminders and fulfillment tracking
Unallocated funding
New contract opportunities or openings
By surfacing these alerts in a clear, centralized view, we gave users visibility into potential risks or actions required—ensuring they could stay on top of their responsibilities without being overwhelmed.
Flexible Search, Filters & Fuzzy Matching
We built flexible search and filter functionality to accommodate the many ways users reference data.
Whether they were looking up a group or entity by name, IMNI, or IPI, the system supported multiple entry points—ensuring users weren’t boxed into a single way of searching.
Artist identities added an extra layer of complexity. One artist might be known by many aliases—Calvin Broadus, Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion, and more—all of which needed to be recognized as a single, unified profile. At the same time, the system had to distinguish between similar-sounding names, like Snoopy, who might also hold valid contracts.
To address this, we implemented fuzzy matching and built logic that grouped known aliases, credits, and identifiers under one holistic artist profile. This gave users a clearer, more complete picture of each artist’s contractual relationships—no matter how many names they went by.
Artist Profiles & Discoverability
Beyond contracts, the platform also featured dedicated spaces for building out an artist’s profile and portfolio of work. These pages gave artists a way to present themselves—offering visibility into their background and body of work—without exposing any contractual details.
These profiles played an important role in fostering discoverability across the platform. Artists could include public-facing details such as legal and stage names, ISNIs, IPIs, and potentially even external links like Wikipedia pages or contact information (when applicable).
Once a profile was created, it became part of a global artist database—a structured system that stored each artist's unique identifiers. This ensured that when contracts were created, much of the artist’s information could auto-populate, streamlining the setup process and reducing repetitive data entry.
The result was a smarter, more efficient workflow for users creating contracts, while also building a rich, interconnected network of artist profiles across the platform.
Conclusion
Contracts will always be complex—but understanding them shouldn’t be. By stripping away the legal noise and surfacing only what matters most, we created a platform that empowers artists and their teams with clarity, control, and confidence.
What once felt like a confusing maze of clauses, percentages, and changing terms has been reimagined into a clear, interactive experience—one that evolves with the artist’s career and protects their interests in real time.
With RYTEBOX™, we didn't just build a product—we built a foundation for transparency and trust in an industry that too often lacks both. Now, artists and their affiliates can move forward knowing exactly where they stand, what they’re owed, and how their creative legacy is managed.
The future of rights management is dynamic, accessible, and artist-first—and this is just the beginning.