Week 7 Blog

Trying to Make Complex Workflows Feel Simple

This week, I started working on a specific section of Globaly.io for the first time independently. The focus was the agent-facing dashboard, where education consultancy agents manage applications for multiple students applying to universities. Compared to my earlier work, this felt much more complex because the users are constantly handling large amounts of information at once.

While designing the partnership module between agent and institution, I started thinking more carefully about cognitive load and how quickly users need to process information. An agent might be managing dozens of students simultaneously, so even small inefficiencies in navigation or layout can slow down their workflow. It made me realize that in products like this, every extra click or confusing interaction has a real impact on the user’s experience.

Another important thing I understood this week was the role of user flows in the design process. The Product Manager had already finalized and approved the workflow structure before the design phase began. That meant my role was not to redesign the logic itself, but to create the best possible experience within those boundaries. 

I also became more aware of how important components are when working in a shared design system. Since both the senior designer and I contribute to the same product, everything needs to stay reusable and consistent. Building isolated designs might work individually, but it creates problems later when the product scale.

Key Learnings & Insights

  • Multi-user platforms require strong focus on reducing cognitive load.
  • Good information hierarchy becomes critical when users manage large amounts of data.
  • User flows act as professional design boundaries, not suggestions.
  • Shared Figma components help maintain consistency across the product.
  • Collaboration becomes smoother when design systems are followed properly.

    • Application in Practice

    This week, I designed the first version of partnership screens. While working on them, I focused heavily on layout clarity, readability, and information hierarchy so agents could process tasks and student data more efficiently.

    Reflection

    One challenge I faced this week was stopping myself from rethinking parts of the user flow, even when I had ideas to improve it. I naturally like solving and improving systems, but I’m starting to realize that not every decision is meant to be changed at the design stage.

    At the same time, this week felt good because I finally started contributing more actively instead of just observing. Working on actual screens made me feel more involved in the product and more comfortable within the team.

    Next Week Goals

    • Get informal feedback from the senior designer before presenting screens to the Product Manager.
    • Improve consistency in component usage and spacing.
    • Continue strengthening my understanding of agent workflows and needs.
    • Focus on designing with more confidence within existing constraints.

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