Workplace · UX Restructure · IoT
Comfy: Workplace
Experience App
Restructuring the UX of a fast-growing workplace app, moving from a feature-crammed bottom nav to a modular, scalable home experience.
My Role
Lead UX/UI: Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, Dev Specs, Visual Design
Team
Front End Engineer, Product Manager, Junior Product Designer, VP of UX
Focus
Navigation Architecture · Card Systems Hybrid App Design · Design Systems
01
Overview & Problem
A workplace app that outgrew its own structure
Comfy's original mission was to solve the number one complaint in offices: temperature. Over a few years, the feature set rapidly expanded to include lighting, work requests, room booking, and desk booking. The floor map, part of the original app, grew in complexity as well.
As a fast-growing startup working to stay nimble, the design and engineering teams added new features as individual pages in a bottom nav. People landed on the floor map when they opened the app.
This structure had reached a breaking point. More features had no place to go, people were confused on launch, and enterprise customers needed a premium first impression.
People told us landing on the floor map was daunting. The call to action was not obvious.
As more features were added, the bottom nav had no room to grow. We had reached "peak-nav."
We needed a dedicated home page, both for usability and as a request from enterprise customers.
Goals for success
Welcome and orient people on launch, and give them a complete picture of their workplace in a single view.
Introduce a modular card system that allows new features and micro-services to be customized and released quickly.
Make a high-impact first impression for enterprise customers with the premium feel of a workplace experience app.
02
My Role & Process
Research, wire, prototype, with an unexpected tool
Comfy is a hybrid app built in Cordova, a single codebase for mobile and web, available on both App and Play Stores. This hybrid model posed real challenges around breakpoint optimization and the back-button behavior differences between Android and iOS. Those constraints shaped every design decision I made.
The hybrid model is great for a small development team, but it creates tricky edge cases around breakpoint optimization and the back-button navigation of Android vs. iOS. Both played a major role throughout the project.
Phase 1 Research
Divergent exploration + user interviews
I compiled divergent design ideas to solve "peak nav," complemented with user interviews using click-through InVision prototypes. I surfaced key technical and scoping questions for the engineering team.
Wireframing
Google Slides as a design tool
We used Google Slides to pair on wireframes, an unconventional choice that enabled rapid feedback loops. I presented options to the engineering team for technical feasibility review.
Prototyping
Three options for testing
I built three testable prototypes: (1) No Nav with a Search card, (2) Floating Action Button for Search, (3) Bottom Nav with Search in Header. I quickly ruled out option 2. Only 3 of 10 people tapped the FAB.
User Testing
UserZoom click test + heat maps
A basic click test validated that people could complete all tasks with either nav structure. Heat maps confirmed no-nav was viable, and the executive team preferred it to elevate the product's style.
03
Key Design Decisions
Removing the nav, and the complexity with it
After synthesizing research and getting sign-off from PMs and the engineering team, I shifted to preparing for handoff. That meant developing matrices for every permutation of feature sets a customer could have, crafting a detailed dev spec in Jira Confluence, and drafting high-level stories with the lead developer and PM.
No-nav won. Heat map data and executive preference aligned. Removing the bottom nav de-cluttered the experience and elevated the premium feel without hurting task completion.
Modular card system. I replaced the floor map as the landing experience with a card-based home screen, giving people an at-a-glance view of their workplace and a flexible surface for future feature additions.
Hybrid constraints drove scope. Android and iOS back-button behavior and breakpoint edge cases, especially "phablet" sizes, required careful scoping and phased development planning.
Style guide updated in parallel. I compiled visual design refinements in InVision's DSM tool, synced with Sketch, to keep assets current as development progressed.
04
Outcomes & Impact
A foundation for endless customization
The new enhanced welcome experience sets the stage for a full roadmap of enhancements, including card customization, enhanced amenity information, and step-by-step navigation. It gives people the tools to be productive and engaged at work, and it gives customers the ability to satisfy the individual needs of their building environments.
Peak-nav solved
The modular card home screen replaced the bottom nav, giving the app room to grow with future features.
Enterprise-ready
A premium first impression for enterprise customers, elevated enough to anchor sales pitches and onboarding.
Updated design system
I shipped visual design refinements in parallel with development, establishing a refreshed style guide for the product.
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