UI Language & Visual System

Challenge

The SSIMWAVE software portfolio included four products with three separate interfaces and UI languages. As I reviewed the product line, it was clear they would benefit from a design system and component library. This would improve design, development, and QA times and give a boost to the brand by providing a consistent experience across the board.

Roles

  • UX Lead
  • UI Design
  • User testing

Process

The product experience ecosystem is as important as the products themselves. The more consistency between products, the better the overall experience. Lots of communication and integration with various teams was required to accomplish this initiative. My approach was as follows:

  • Full software inventory of all applications and components
  • Coordination with front-end developers to align with their initiative to evaluate and select a new code framework
  • Outline design guidelines and requirements
  • Sketches and wireframes
  • Design exploration (desktop and mobile)
  • User validation
  • Document design patterns and components
  • Coordinate development with engineering teams

Solution

Design guidelines

  • The SSIMWAVE experience – strive for a consistent experience across applications
  • Embrace complexity, value simplicity – Summarize most important info, enable details
  • Content is most important – Interface should not speak louder than content
  • Be consistent – data, interface, icons, colours, components
  • Improve affordance – interface components should speak for themselves

New design and UI language

We progressed through a number of iterations while testing with users and customers along the way.

Outcome

We successfully designed a consistent user experience and a new UI language that each product team could begin moving towards.

  • Consistent UI language across SSIMWAVE products
  • Design patterns and layouts consistent with the rest of the internet
  • Upgraded code framework
  • Improved build and QA times
  • A UI refresh that reflected the innovative and forward looking values of the company
  • User and customer validated approval of the new direction
  • Internal energy and motivation to move the products forward