Reach Hub UI

UX Improvements for Project Management Platform

Improving usability, clarity, and navigation in a WebXR project management platform.

Context

Reach Hub is the project management interface for Virtalis Reach, allowing teams to create WebXR visualisation projects, manage assets, monitor processing jobs, and control user permissions.

The platform was used by engineers, developers, designers, and clients to manage and access immersive visualisation environments.

When I joined Virtalis, Reach Hub had grown organically and suffered from multiple usability issues affecting navigation clarity, interaction consistency, and perceived product quality.

Product Problem

A UX audit revealed several issues impacting usability and adoption:

• Inconsistent interaction patterns across sections.
• Unclear navigation and action affordances.
• Lack of onboarding for first-time users.
• Poor readability due to full-width layouts.
• A purely functional visual design that weakened perceived product value.

Because Reach Hub was actively used by enterprise teams, improving usability was essential to support project management workflows and reinforce the product’s credibility.

Constraints

The project had important constraints:

• WebXR development was the primary product priority.
• Limited engineering capacity for major structural changes.
• Tight release timelines.

Because of this, we adopted a two-phase improvement strategy:

1. Short-term usability improvements that preserved the existing UI structure,
2. Future research-led redesign based on deeper UX studies.

This approach allowed us to significantly improve usability without delaying other roadmap priorities.

My Role

As Senior Product Designer, I:

• Conducted UX audits and first-time user analysis.
• Identified usability issues and interaction inconsistencies.
• Proposed design recommendations and structural improvements.
• Created browser-based prototypes to demonstrate the improved UI.
• Supported implementation through CSS styling and design guidance.

Key Design Decisions

1. Reduce cognitive load

Inconsistent interaction patterns across sections created confusion.
I introduced clearer CTAs and more predictable interaction patterns.

2. Improve affordance and navigation clarity

Icon-only navigation and inconsistent clickable areas made actions difficult to understand.
I introduced labelled controls and standardised interaction zones.

3. Improve readability and layout structure

Full-width layouts reduced readability.
I implemented a constrained content container to improve scanning and visual hierarchy.

4. Increase perceived product quality

The UI was visually functional but lacked brand presence.
I improved visual styling and consistency to increase perceived product value and support sales demonstrations.

Outcome

The improvements resulted in:

• Clearer navigation across core platform sections.
• More consistent interaction patterns.
• Reduced cognitive load for first-time users.
• Improved visual clarity and perceived product quality.

The updated interface provided a stronger foundation for future UX research and structural improvements planned in the next product phase.