Tackling UX Debt as a Product Designer

When I first joined the team at Prism.fm as a product designer, I knew I had my work cut out for me. As the company's first dedicated design hire, I was tasked with breaking down the existing product components, establishing a cohesive design system, and addressing the significant UX debt that had accumulated over time.

Rebuilding Trust Through Consistency

The existing Prism.fm product had certainly grown quickly, but that growth had come at the cost of user experience. Component styles were all over the place, making the interface feel disjointed and unreliable.

Even our most loyal users grew frustrated by the lack of consistency and the frequent context switching required to accomplish their tasks.

When we would touch a component, it was my role as the product designer to comb the codebase and bring everything up to a consistent experience.

My first priority was to establish a solid design system that could serve as the foundation for a cohesive user interface. This involved:

• Auditing the existing component library: Identifying inconsistencies, redundancies, and opportunities for consolidation.
• Defining a core style guide: Establishing a clear, unified visual language for typography, color, iconography, and UI patterns. Some things were using Material UI while some were not.
• Documenting reusable components in Figma and the codebase: Creating a central repository of UI elements that could be easily referenced and implemented by the engineering team.
  • Colors were all in our - Palette.css

Optimizing for Discoverability and Clarity

With a more consistent visual language in place, I turned my attention to the overall information architecture and user flows. It was clear that the existing navigation structure and excessive use of modals were causing significant usability issues.

• Reorganized the primary navigation to group related functionalities and improve discoverability.
• Reduced reliance on modals, instead opting for inline panels and contextual overlays that kept users grounded in the core experience.
• Implemented clear labeling, instructions, and error states to ensure users understood how to interact with each feature.

Building Trust Through Viability

As I worked to address the UX debt, it was important to strike a balance between quickly iterating on existing features and introducing new, carefully-considered experiences. I knew that even our most loyal users would start to lose faith if they were presented with a continuous stream of half-baked solutions.

An MVP can be simple, but should always solve the customer's need. Customer feedback is the best way to know what is immediately necessary and what can wait for later.

By focusing on delivering complete, usable experiences - even if they were relatively narrow in scope - I was able to rebuild trust with our user base and lay the groundwork for more ambitious feature releases down the line.

Overcoming UX Debt, Unlocking Growth

The journey of tackling Prism's UX debt was not an easy one, but the results spoke for themselves. By establishing a strong design system, optimizing the information architecture, and delivering viable, trustworthy experiences, we were able to dramatically improve user satisfaction and unlock new opportunities for growth.

If you're looking for a product designer who can navigate the challenges of UX debt and translate user needs into impactful solutions, I would be thrilled to discuss how I can contribute to your team's success.