Make the complex feel navigable
The Strangeworks platform gives users access to quantum hardware, simulators, and optimization tools. The challenge was designing interfaces that respected the complexity of the domain while removing unnecessary friction from common workflows.
QC platforms are commonly dense. Users range from researchers experimenting to operations teams managing hardware access. A single interface needed to serve fundamentally different mental models without becoming a Swiss Army knife that does nothing well.
- 01Users spent the most time navigating between related features — the information architecture was the biggest friction point, not individual screens.
- 02Power users wanted density and keyboard shortcuts; new users needed progressive disclosure and guided flows.
- 03Trust was built through transparency — showing job status, queue position, and compute costs in real time.
A feature-rich platform that felt overwhelming
Every new capability had been bolted onto the existing navigation without rethinking the overall structure. Users couldn’t find what they needed, onboarding completion rates were low, and support tickets skewed heavily toward "how do I do X?" questions.
Progressive complexity
I redesigned the core navigation and key workflows around the principle of progressive complexity (catalog, billing, uploads) — simple surfaces that reveal depth as users need it, rather than front-loading every option.
Restructured Navigation
Reorganized the platform around user intent (explore, build, manage) rather than feature categories, reducing top-level nav items from 12 to 5.
Guided Workflows
Key multi-step processes like job submission and hardware selection were redesigned as focused, linear flows with contextual help.
Dashboard Redesign
A personalized home screen that surfaces relevant activity, recent work, and recommended next steps based on the user’s role and history.
Measurably less friction
Onboarding completion improved significantly, and "how do I?" support tickets dropped. The redesigned navigation became the foundation for every subsequent feature release, giving the team a scalable structure to build on.