0->1: Transforming user experience and workflows with modern design in engineering software
Lightweight, rapid simulation software and knowledge base that turbocharges innovation in optical metalenses Simple Metalens
Product Designer
Collaborated with Founder-Developer
0→1 Product design from concept to launch
Freelance
UX
UI
Promoting metalens technology for all
In 2023, Simple Metalens launched their first product, SMD Tool, to help engineers design metalenses without the super labor-intensive process. While iterating the Tool, the founder realized there was a potential and a need for a faster, more comprehensive version. It wasn’t about having a better interface or adding few more parameters to the lens design, it’s about supporting metalens technologies and making it available for different applications and industries.
For design, this meant the flows need to be more clear to accommodate the increased complexity and the experience needs to remain simple and user-friendly.
One thing, not everything-everywhere-all-at-once
Complex engineering software poses unique challenges for product design. Traditionally, these applications present all features in a crowded toolbar, similar to Microsoft Office’s Ribbon, filled with icons, labels, and buttons. Regardless of how effective the information architecture is, the toolbar can often resemble chaos.
This all-inclusive interface creates problems, as engineers perform best when they can focus on one task at a time. From the outset of our collaboration, the founder and I shared a vision of avoiding this pitfall for our product. Our goal was to clarify the interface and streamline the user experience.
The bad and the good of partnering with a self-taught founder-developer
Collaborating with a self-taught founder-developer presents both challenges and rewards. Designs can sometimes hit roadblocks due to technical constraints stemming from the founder's skills. This experience pushed me to improve my design presentations, clearly articulating the value and benefits. I focused on creating scalable, buildable solutions while assuming the founder's technical knowledge would continue to grow.
Iterative process was prominent throughout our collaboration, as the founder frequently proposed new feature ideas. As the design partner, my role was to accommodate these ideas while ensuring an intuitive and user-friendly experience.
From cluttered toolbar to intuitive sidebar. Simple.
For SMD PRO, each sidebar menu represents a distinct module of the application. By clearly separating features and functions into sidebar menus, we simplify the interface, minimize context-switching, and enable engineers to focus on the specifics within the entire viewport.
Kaizen journey with the Founder
v1.0.0 marks just the beginning for Simple Metalens. During the design and development process, we prioritized certain features for the initial release while setting others aside for the product roadmap. Moving forward, we anticipate that user feedback will shape our future updates and enhancements for SMD PRO.