UI/UX overhaul for an AI-powered conservation platform
Project
Role
UX Design
UI Design
Design System
Team
1 founder
1 FE engineer
1 designer (me)
Year
2025
Overview
Understory is an AI-powered conservation platform used by environmental scientists to turn complex ecological data into real-world climate action.
I partnered with the team to overhaul the UI/UX, transforming an engineer-built beta into a user-centered product that balances scientific depth with clarity so that insights are easier to access, trust, and act on as the platform scales.
Project & Process
Designing for scale, not just accuracy
Understory’s early product was technically sound but difficult to use. Built by a front-end engineer, the interface followed system logic rather than user expectations, requiring hands-on onboarding and limiting adoption beyond early beta users.
As the team prepared to scale, the goal became clear: preserve the scientific rigor while making the experience intuitive enough to stand on its own.
I proposed a focused engagement: UX audit, design recommendations, system refinement, and implementation. Planned to be followed by user interviews to collect feedback before expanding access.
Understanding before redesigning
I kicked off the project with stakeholder interviews and industry research, studying how adjacent tools present dense, spatial data without overwhelming users.
From there, I audited every screen in the product, documenting friction points, missing patterns, and opportunities to improve clarity, hierarchy, and flow. The audit surfaced a consistent theme: too much cognitive effort was required to complete even basic tasks.
Untangling complexity
The redesign focused on four core principles:
Guided workflows to help users move confidently through complex tasks
Clear visual hierarchy to surface what matters most, when it matters
A scalable design system to support growth beyond beta
Insight-driven spatial interactions that connect data to action
Early wireframes reimagined the global UI (navigation, layout, and structure) helping align the team around a shared vision before moving into high-fidelity design.
From foundations to flows
I established a design system foundation and rebuilt key flows end to end, including onboarding, dashboard, project creation, results viewing, and verification.
One notable shift was rethinking the empty landing state. Instead of a blank screen, it became a flexible dashboard which would introduce the product to new users while giving returning users quick access to recent projects. A small change that made the product feel alive, purposeful, and scalable.
Every screen was designed to present the right level of detail at the right moment, making advanced workflows feel approachable without diluting scientific integrity.
Outcomes & Learnings
The redesigned experience significantly improved usability, turning an already powerful platform into one that feels intuitive, credible, and ready for broader adoption.
The work laid a strong foundation for beta feedback and future iteration, helping Understory move closer to its mission of accelerating climate action through better tools.
"Sarah, great job on everything! This is so much clearer for the end user!!! I really love the addition of the layman "how large is your project", it makes it really accessible to the folks in the field. It's a great foundation and I can't believe how much you've been able to simplify things! Really impressive!!!"
— Ross Davison, CEO, Understory.ai
