TEAM
Time
3 months
My role
Product Designer
KEY SKILLS
Adoption & Retention
UX Research
AI Prototyping
Overview
Arda helps manufacturers automate replenishment through QR-enabled Kanban cards. The original MVP validated the concept, but design debt, fragmented workflows, and cognitive overload made the product difficult to use and scale. As the founding designer, I partnered with leadership and engineering to simplify the core experience and establish a stronger foundation for growth.
SOLUTION
I redesigned Arda around one clear path to value—identify what needs replenishment, review the order, and place it.
I chose projects as the North Star Metric because it was the leading indicator for the ultimate goal, which is publications. Every action taken drives user either directly or indirectly to "Join or Submit a Project/Paper idea."
Tradeoffs: I deprioritized mentorship and events to focus the experience on projects - identified as the North Star Metric from research— chose clarity over comprehensiveness since users already felt overwhelmed by the existing experience.
product thinking
I redefined success around a North Star
User research surfaced three primary goals: attend events, talk to a researcher, and join a project. I prioritized "Join a Project" as the North Star Metric because it feeds directly into the publication pipeline. Publication being the end goal.
The North Star Metric was 7 orders a week.
who i designed for
Three peronas, one North Star
Through user interviews and stakeholder interviews these personas surfaced. I mapped the most likely engagement loops for each persona.
research
I led with usability testing, not visuals, for the 0-1 redesign
Before designing anything, I ran moderated usability tests on the existing site with six independent researchers across my three personas — watching where they stalled, what they ignored, and what they'd actually come to do.
01 — WHAT USERS CAME TO DO
02 — WHAT I HEARD
“ The text on this site, it's too much and I never find the info I need. There's no clear way to find a collaborator. ” - Sam L.
“ I just joined Discord because it's not clear where I can find these researchers to talk to, or if there's events I can go. ” - Nick B.
100% of of users wanted to see the real researchers & papers first
“Honestly, this site is confusing. I mean, where are the researchers? Also the wording seems intimidating for submitting an idea.” - Joanna L.
key product decisions
A few examples of how research changed the proudct
CLEAR HERO AND VALUE
Proactively communicate MLC mission and value, clear NSM as primary action.
focused discovery
Discovery mapped to user goals making projects, events, and researchers easy to find.
Streamlined actions
Simplifies how users take action and get involved. 1 click actions from the homepage.
validation
Outcomes
Validation tested on the same six users, I measured the before and after for — time spent on page, how confident they felt in achieving their goal, and seven different tasks. Results validated behavioral change and optimization for growth.
Increased Time on Page
+92%
User Confidence Score
+99%
Task completion rate
+6x
