Work · creativity is everywhere
Mobile product architecture and design system
CLI Studios
A solo product-design engagement replaced a modal-heavy dance-learning app with full pages, four peer destinations, clearer content types, and a build-ready design system.
CLI Studios · 2024
The design decision
Five complaints exposed one architectural problem.
- complaints traced to one root
- 5
- peer navigation sections
- 4
- system documentation pages
- 13
- components and states
- 125+
01 · Diagnosis
Modal overload had collapsed the information architecture.
Five usability complaints appeared unrelated until a heuristic evaluation and interviews traced them to one structure: too many flows opened as modals, navigation context disappeared, and content types were named inconsistently.
02 · Decision
Replace overlays with places users can return to.
The redesign rejected a visual refresh, modal adjustments, and isolated point fixes. Full pages restored back navigation. Courses became Learning Path; Collections became Playlists. Home, Discover, Library, and My Pick became four peer destinations.
03 · Before and after
The new home explains the product by using it.
Distinct card forms separate classes, Playlists, and Learning Paths. Announcements, saved material, progress, followed instructors, and recommendations now sit in a visible hierarchy rather than behind competing surfaces.
04 · Made
A product system, not a set of screens.
The final delivery covered 13 documentation pages and more than 125 components, variants, states, grid rules, typography, navigation, controls, imagery, and accessibility specifications.
05 · Outcome
A build-ready redesign with a projected efficiency gain.
The flows and specifications were completed as a coherent system. A 25% development-effort reduction was projected in the source case study; it was not measured after release.
Watch the work
The films and walkthroughs.
- Client
- CLI Studios
- Role
- Lead product designer — solo engagement
- What we made
- Information architecture, full-page product flows, and a 125-plus-component design system
Credit, clearly.
A solo design engagement informed by stakeholder input and user interviews.
The redesign and specification are documented deliverables. The 25% development-effort reduction is a projection, not a measured result.
Bring us the part that has not resolved yet.
Tell us what you are building, what is getting in the way, and what has already been tried. We reply from New York.