PhagoSense

Project snapshot

Overview

PhagoSense needed a digital product experience that could support complex experimental workflows without overwhelming the user. The platform had to guide researchers through multi-step processes, surface important information clearly, and create a more structured experience across analysis, setup, and results.

My role

Lead UX/UI Designer

Scope

UX strategy, information architecture, user flows, wireframes, interface design, design consistency,
and scalable system thinking

Focus

Reducing cognitive load, improving navigation, and creating a more intuitive experience
for a specialist scientific platform

The challenge

Scientific tools often require users to work through detailed processes, dense information, and specialist terminology. In the case of PhagoSense, the product needed to support technically complex tasks whilst still feeling usable and coherent.

The key challenge was not to simplify the science, but to simplify the experience of working through it.

The design needed to address:

  • Complex multi-step workflows

  • High cognitive load

  • Dense information structures

  • Usability for both new and experienced users

  • Consistency across the platform

The problem

The existing experience risked creating friction in several areas.

Lengthy workflows

Users needed to move through multiple stages of setup and analysis, which could feel demanding and difficult to track without a clearer structure.

Information overload

Large volumes of technical content, inputs, and outputs made it harder for users to quickly identify priorities.

Inconsistent interaction patterns

Without a more unified design language, the product risked feeling fragmented across the experience.

Confidence and clarity

Because this was a specialist scientific tool, the interface needed to feel trustworthy, precise, and easy to follow at every step.

Goals

The design direction focused on creating a product experience that felt:

  • Clearer in structure and hierarchy

  • Easier to move through multi-step workflows

  • Consistent across screens and interactions

  • Accessible for users with different levels of expertise

  • Credible as a specialist scientific platform

My approach

I approached the product by looking at how to reduce friction without reducing depth.

1. Create stronger workflow guidance

Complex processes were broken into more manageable stages using clearer sequencing, guided progression, and stronger visual cues.

2. Improve information hierarchy

Content, actions, and analysis areas were prioritised more deliberately so users could focus on what mattered most at each point in the journey.

3. Design for consistency

Reusable UI patterns, aligned interactions, and a more systematic visual language helped create continuity across the platform.

4. Balance technical rigour with usability

The interface needed to feel precise and professional, but not intimidating. The goal was to support serious scientific work through clarity rather than visual excess.

Solution highlights

Guided multi-step workflows

I introduced a clearer structure to help users understand where they were in the process, what had been completed, and what came next. This reduced the sense of fragmentation across longer tasks.

Clearer information architecture

The product was reorganised around a stronger hierarchy, progressive disclosure, and clearer content grouping so that users could scan and interpret information more effectively.

More intuitive interface patterns

A more consistent UI language helped reduce unnecessary friction and made repeated interactions easier to learn and use.

Improved readability and focus

Spacing, typography, layout, and interface structure were refined to improve legibility and reduce cognitive load across dense screens.

A more scalable design foundation

The work helped establish a clearer visual and interaction system that could support future product growth and more consistent implementation.

Design system thinking

A core part of the project was creating a more coherent product language across the platform.

This included:

  • Cleaner and more restrained visual system

  • Consistent component behaviour

  • Clearer typography and hierarchy

  • Improved spacing and layout logic

  • Reusable patterns for forms, navigation, and content blocks

  • Visual consistency across workflows and analysis views

This systems approach helped the interface feel more reliable, easier to use, and more scalable for future development.

Outcome

The result was a more structured and user-friendly design direction for a technically demanding platform.

The redesigned experience created a stronger foundation for:

  • Navigating complex workflows with more confidence

  • Reducing friction across detailed processes

  • Making dense information easier to interpret

  • Improving consistency across the product

  • Supporting both usability and scientific credibility