Trase had just completed a major revamp, merging three separate websites into one. They brought me on to push the visual design further, streamline the user experience, and help the team adopt new ways of working.
Trase
User research
Workshop facilitation
Wireframe
UI design
Design System
Trase is an open-access online platform that revolutionizes supply chain transparency for key globally-traded agricultural commodities. Connecting data sources in innovative ways, Trase represents a step-change in the ability to link commodity buyers to individual production regions and the sustainability risks and opportunities in those regions.
Role: Lead Product Designer
Timeline: 1 year - Ongoing
Core team: Product Manager and Software Engineer
Extended team: Global Researchers and Data Scientists
After a thorough audit, I rolled out a continuous research program to keep insights flowing throughout the year:
Users struggled to understand and engage with the data because key results were crowded, hard to find, and lacked contextual guidance, leading to confusion and overlooked insights.
Design before "Explore the Data" result for Paraguay:
In the redesigned experience, users land directly on the flow map.
It allows power users to access insights immediately. I introduced contextual tooltips that provide guidance at relevant moments, helping users navigate the tool with clarity and confidence.
Solution: Introduced preset filters, a persistent side-nav, and a streamlined toolbar, so users can explore and compare regions in two clicks.
Design of the map before
New design
Solution: Overhauled the global nav to clearly showcase Trase’s core offerings and allow users to jump straight into “Insights,” “About,” or exploring the data. Improving accessibility across the website.
Applied WCAG-compliant contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader-friendly labels to the menu.
Over the past year, we saw an uptick not just in traffic, but in the depth and quality of user engagement and user satisfaction.
Throughout the year, we saw:
