Alida
Redesigning the products’ interfaces and creating a reusable design system.
Role
UX Designer
Duration
2 months
Deliverables
Information architecture, Design system, High-fidelity mocks, Interactive prototype
Challenge
Alida offers several solutions designed to help companies improve their customer experience management (CXM). As part of my role, I contributed to a project focused on redesigning the interfaces of the company’s products. A few months prior, the organization had rebranded from its former name, Vision Critical, and an initial update had already been completed on the company website to reflect the new brand identity. Building on this momentum, members of the management team formed a small working group tasked with redesigning and improving the product interfaces.
One of the project’s main challenges was standardizing the user experience across multiple products. As the company had been operating for several years, inconsistencies had naturally emerged over time, making greater cohesion across interfaces a key objective. Another important consideration was ensuring that our design proposals were realistic and aligned with the existing technical architecture of each product. To achieve this, we worked closely with the development team throughout the project.
One of the project’s main challenges was standardizing the user experience across multiple products. As the company had been operating for several years, inconsistencies had naturally emerged over time, making greater cohesion across interfaces a key objective. Another important consideration was ensuring that our design proposals were realistic and aligned with the existing technical architecture of each product. To achieve this, we worked closely with the development team throughout the project.
Problem Statement
“The organization’s products present inconsistencies across their interfaces, which can lead to user confusion. How might we create a design system that harmonizes these interfaces to deliver a cohesive user experience, while accounting for the constraints imposed by the platform’s existing architecture?”
Process
1 | Creating a design system
Shortly after joining the company, one of the first projects I contributed to was the creation of a design system. In collaboration with other designers on the UX team, we established a shared component library in Figma using the atomic design approach. This initiative helped align our work as a team and improved consistency across the new features we were designing. The design system also served as a foundational building block for the broader interface redesign project.
2 | Updating the user interfaces
The interface redesign project began by prioritizing the most frequently used sections of the products. Page structures were refined wherever possible while respecting existing development constraints. The color palette was updated to reflect the new brand identity while remaining appropriate for a digital product environment. In parallel, the team created reusable page templates to document design intent and provide clear guidelines for developers and other designers. The design system was also continuously updated throughout the process to ensure alignment as the work evolved.
3 | Stakeholders feedback / User testing
Given the project’s impact on the company’s products, multiple feedback sessions were conducted with stakeholders. Contributors from various departments were also involved to gather complementary perspectives on the products. Prior to releasing the updated interfaces, user testing was carried out with participants from an early adopters program.
4 | Coordination and implementation
Collaboration with developers was essential throughout the project. As high-fidelity mockups were translated into code, several implementation challenges emerged, occasionally requiring design adjustments to accommodate the platform’s architectural constraints. This close partnership was highly motivating, particularly due to the team’s open-mindedness and shared enthusiasm.
Results
Design System
The design system was the result of a collaborative effort within the UX team. Using an atomic design approach, we created a shared component library in Figma that consolidated UI elements used across the company’s products. Figma’s variant properties were leveraged to increase component flexibility and scalability. The design system played a central role in the interface redesign and significantly accelerated the creation of high-fidelity mockups for new and upcoming features.
Homepage
The project also provided an opportunity to redesign the platform’s homepage. As the organization’s product offering expanded, creating a unified landing page became essential. This page helps users quickly understand which products they have access to and provides direct links to each application. The homepage is structured with two tabs: the first highlights the main products available to the user, while the second offers a comprehensive overview of all applications and features provided by the company.
App Drawer
The App Drawer is a new navigation menu designed as part of the project to help users navigate across all products offered by the company. Inspired by the redesigned homepage, the first tab displays the products a user has access to, providing quick links to available applications and streamlining navigation across the platform. The “Discover” tab allows users to explore and learn more about the organization’s broader product offering.
Products
The landing pages of flagship products, such as Alida Sparq, were redesigned to more effectively communicate relevant information to users. One of these pages presents a dashboard that highlights customer experience management data collected through the product. In addition, visual hierarchy and layout strategies were applied to prioritize information based on its relative importance, making key insights easier to identify and interpret.
Survey Builder
Other key features, such as the Survey Builder, were also redesigned. The iconography was refreshed to better represent different types of survey questions and to more clearly communicate available features. In addition, elements of the new brand color palette were integrated into the icons to help highlight key actions and components.
Dashboards
Colors from the new brand identity were integrated into the dashboards of products such as Alida Analytics. In collaboration with the development team, we explored various chart libraries to enhance dashboard interactivity. A key objective of this work was to standardize the libraries used across products in order to improve consistency and maintainability.
Reflections
This project had a significant impact on the company’s products and received positive feedback from users. Improvements to navigation and the introduction of the new homepage were particularly appreciated for their ease of use. I believe this success was driven by the collective effort, enthusiasm, and commitment of the team. Despite tight deadlines, the collaboration and open-mindedness demonstrated by the team throughout the project made it possible to deliver strong results. Key takeaways from this experience include:
- Valuing and respecting diverse perspectives to foster a strong team dynamic;
- Encouraging a collaborative environment to learn from others’ experiences;
- Sharing ideas early and often to support constructive discussions and better outcomes.