PROJECT
Empowering Users with No-Code Customization
Project Details
Organization: Igloo Software Inc
Team: User Experience, Product Management, Development
Role: Senior User Experience Designer
Summary: At Igloo Software, a digital workplace platform, I worked to streamline the user experience for configuring digital workplaces. Traditionally, users relied on internal developers or manual HTML/CSS customization to achieve their desired designs. To bridge this gap, I led the design of two impactful features; the Call-To-Action Widget and the enhanced Links Widget. These solutions transformed a complex, developer-dependent process into an intuitive, no-code experience, enabling users to create visually engaging layouts instantly. By shifting customization to configuration, we put the power of design directly into users' hands, enhancing both efficiency and accessibility.
Process
The overall process for the Call-To-Action (aka CTA) widget was:
Existing customizations were synthesized in to similar style groupings through a card sort activity.
Interviews were conducted with visual designers, internal development teams who executed these customizations, and customers who use the features regularly around challenges.
Designs were created of output styles and configuration interface via Sketch.
Multiple iterations were created as design critiques and developer meetings influences the designs.
Finalized designs were accepted for development via Zeplin.
During the development phase, some design changes needed to be made due to unforeseen technical issues.
Before this project, creating a Call-to-Action (CTA) in our platform was anything but intuitive. Users relied on custom HTML/CSS or developer support to build something visually engaging. To simplify this experience, I started with a deep dive into how CTAs were being implemented across existing digital workplaces. After auditing nearly 80 custom CTAs, I identified four key design patterns: Text Button, Description, Color Bar, and Icon - each often incorporating background images.
Armed with this knowledge, I collaborated with visual designers, developers, and customers to understand pain points, technical constraints, and their ultimate magic wand solutions. Then I designed a flexible, no code CTA widget that empowered users to configure these layouts effortlessly.
One major challenge was the widget framework itself. Tabs operated independently, meaning settings couldn't carry over seamlessly from one to the next—a mismatch with users’ mental models. Additionally, tab names couldn't be changed, which led to confusion, particularly with the "Appearance" tab, where options didn’t always produce visible changes.
Another hurdle was accessibility vs. brand control. Initially, we enforced accessibility-compliant colour contrast rules, but customers wanted full creative freedom—like maintaining their brand’s lime-green-and-white colour scheme. In response, we introduced separate pickers for background and font colours in a later release, striking a better balance between accessibility and customization.
To ensure a smooth rollout, I partnered with the Product Manager to break features into phased releases. While this allowed for iterative user testing and refinements, it also created unexpected friction, users focused more on what was missing rather than the improvements at hand. Managing expectations became key and these insights shaped how we communicated future phased rollouts.
In the end, this project transformed CTA customization from a developer-heavy process into a user-friendly, configurable experience, putting design control directly into users’ hands without sacrificing flexibility or accessibility.
Delivery
Both of these projects successfully made it to launch with MVP versions that were eventually built on to. Users were provided with fully functional drag-and-drop widgets to easily create Calls-To-Action and Links in the digital workplace without having to interact with HTML/CSS coding.
Iteration
The CTA and Links widgets were developed simultaneously, with features rolled out in different release cycles. This iterative approach allowed us to make continuous improvements based on user feedback, conducting additional testing and refining small features over time. By incorporating time for the features to be used, we ensured a seamless user experience while enhancing functionality with each iteration.
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