Hi, I am Charan

Experienced UX Designer with software development and business expertise
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Whiteboard tool for designers

Project Overview

This was a really fun project. I developed a whiteboard application designed specifically for designers, enabling them to annotate their artwork during client presentations.
Early breadboard design of the home page.
The whiteboard app running on an iPad, showing a sample sketch and the tools palette.

The User Experience

  1. I opted for a web app instead of a native mobile or desktop application since clients of designers would use it only occasionally. It was far more convenient for designers to have their clients access the tool via a URL rather than requiring them to download and install an app.
  2. Since the app doesn't have a registration process, it is instantly ready to use.
  3. The toolset is intentionally limited since an occasional-use tool shouldn't be overly complex. Even options like changing line colors are deliberately tucked away in a sub-menu to maintain a clean and intuitive interface.
    4. A closer look at the tools palette
    A closer look at the tools palette
  4. The advanced capabilities of the tools — uploading the design and initiating a connection — can be done by the designers who will have more experience with the software.
  5. Connecting to another client required a verification code. The code was numeric because I expected that the verification code could be conveyed over a call, where conveying a code that had letters in it could result in confusion between similar sounding letters like B and C, M and N, etc.
  6. The thickness of the lines was fixed. I picked a “medium” thickness that would suit most situations.
  7. The color palette was chosen for both functionality and versatility. Dark grey was the default, with white available for contrast against dark backgrounds. Grey-blue and teal served as neutral options, while yellow, orange, and red were useful for highlighting key areas. Additionally, the colors could be used todistinguish between collaborators during a session, regardless of the colour's intended meaning.
  8. The eraser was built so that its usage needn't be precise:entire lines (not just pixels) would be erased by swiping across any part of it.
  9. The “trash” tool was meant for erasing all lines. It didn't wait to confirm because it is assumed that all the things drawn are not very important.

Conclusion

While simple on the surface, the 19tools project presented several UX challenges. By establishing clear design goals and leveraging Figma's features, I was able to create a design system that accommodated the project's evolving nature. The resulting design is flexible, scalable, and user-friendly, ensuring that the project can continue to grow and adapt to users' needs.