Revamping Acelab's navigation: a UX overhaul
Impact & measurement
70% reduction in dead-end clicks measured via analytics over 8 weeks post-launch; validated through user feedback from architects and designers.
Role
UX Designer
Employer
Acelab
Focus areas
UX/UI, Navigation, Research
Team scope
Led navigation redesign; collaborated with product, engineering, and internal stakeholders. Validated with power users and architects.
Identifying the problem
Through a comprehensive platform audit and user feedback, we uncovered several critical issues with Acelab's navigation system: Inconsistent navigation patterns across different sections of the platform; accessibility issues that made features difficult to find, even for internal teams; fragmented growth of navigation elements over time; unintuitive movement across the platform.
Shows the original, fragmented navigation issues
Defining the solution
After mapping out the navigation issues, I advocated for a complete overhaul and proposed three potential concepts: Top Navigation Only (simple but limited space), Left Navigation Only (more scalable but required significant structural changes), Combined Left & Top Navigation (balanced usability and familiarity—final choice). The final decision was validated through internal workshops and testing with power users.
UI exploration for different navigation layouts
Navigation concepts
Three concepts were explored: top nav only, left nav only, and combined left and top navigation.
Top Navigation Only concept
Iterating & Refining
As the UI redesign progressed alongside navigation changes, we discovered through user testing that internal team preferences differed significantly from those of real users (architects and designers). This insight led us to pivot our approach to better align with actual user needs rather than internal assumptions. We conducted additional testing with target users to ensure our solution would address their specific pain points and workflows.
Testing navigation within the updated home experience
Overcoming constraints
A full platform redesign was infeasible due to time and resource constraints. Instead, we collaborated closely with the engineering team to integrate the new navigation system within the existing screen structures. The solution was to introduce a collapsible left navigation that could be expanded when needed and collapsed to maximize screen real estate. This approach maintained flexibility without requiring a complete overhaul of the entire UI.
Showcases the collapsible side navigation solution
Final outcome & impact
The redesigned navigation system delivered several key improvements: Side Navigation with Expanded/Collapsed States—improved accessibility while maintaining screen real estate. Quick Project Selector—enabled faster access to frequently used projects. Updated Notification Panel—enhanced visibility of important updates. 70% Reduction in Dead-End Clicks—significantly reduced user frustration. Overwhelmingly positive feedback from users.
Demonstrates the final navigation with project selection and notifications
Key takeaways
Research-driven design leads to better user adoption. Balancing ambition with feasibility ensures smoother implementation. Cross-functional collaboration was crucial to delivering an intuitive navigation system that met both user needs and technical requirements.
Testing how navigation impacts product browsing