ActiveCollab, a project management tool trusted by over 50,000 teams, was at a turning point: the company was rebranding, and the product’s aging interface was becoming a liability. As the lead product designer, I took charge of redesigning the app — not just to make it look better, but to solve usability issues, reduce user friction, and build a scalable design foundation for the future.
Beyond aesthetics, the outdated UI was causing real problems: users reported frustration navigating cluttered layouts, internal teams struggled to roll out new features efficiently, and the app risked losing appeal in a competitive market.
While the broader team worked on the brand and marketing, I led the charge on the app redesign, focusing on:
Discovery & Audit: I gathered insights from users, stakeholders, and internal teams, identifying the pain points, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
Template Mapping: With no existing documentation, I built a detailed template checklist to understand how the app was structured.
I created multiple UI prototypes, tested concepts internally, and worked through iterations to balance innovation with user familiarity.
I formalized reusable components and patterns into a foundational design system, enabling the team to move faster, maintain consistency, and scale future design efforts.
This project taught me the importance of deep discovery, stakeholder alignment, and the power of building scalable design systems — not just one-off screens