Product Design UX Strategy AI / B2C SaaS

Designing an Al-powered job search platform — 0 to MVP

TL;DR

Summary of the key milestones and insights from the Hirello 0 → MVP journey.

Early Phase

Initial version focused on tracking and visibility.

Execution

Transformed an Al product vision into real workflows and Ul

Pivot Insight

Research showed users lacked direction, not tools.

Solution

Redesigned experience around prioritized actions and reduced complexity.

Achievement

Led end-to-end product design as founding designer

Hirello was envisioned as an Al-guided job search system

Hirello aimed to help users make consistent progress in their job search through structured workflows and guidance.

My role was to translate this into a usable system: dashboard, workflows, interaction patterns.

Before committing to a direction, I explored different ways the system could come together.

At this stage, there was no prototype yet — the goal was to define structure, not validate it.

Key Questions

  • Should Hiro live inside the dashboard or act as a separate layer?
  • Should tasks feel like a conversation or a structured list?
  • How much guidance is helpful before it becomes overwhelming?
Early brainstorming sketches for Hirello

The first version prioritized completeness over clarity

First version of the Hirello dashboard — multiple modules and dense information
·

multiple modules

·

dense information

·

no clear priority

·

Users had to figure out what to do

What we learned after testing the first version

We interviewed 10 users over 4 weeks. The UI looked good — but the experience didn’t land.

“It looks great, but I don’t know what to do here.”
“It feels more like a report than a coach.”
Users ignored

pipeline

health score

Primary focus
the prioritized worklist

The final direction focused on reducing overwhelm and guiding action

  • prioritize a single next step
  • reduce visible complexity
  • strengthen hierarchy
  • focus on actions that drive responses

Users didn’t need more data — they needed direction

The dashboard was redesigned to focus on what to do next

Goal 01

reduce
decision-making

Goal 02

surface one
clear next step

Goal 03

make progress
actionable

V2 introduced clearer structure

Second iteration of the Hirello dashboard — clearer structure and grouped tasks
·

grouped tasks into modules

·

improved organization

·

Easier to navigate, but still required user decisions

The founders selected V2 as the dashboard direction to move forward with.

V3 explored an action-first experience

Third iteration of the Hirello experience — action-first dashboard
·

one stronger primary action

·

reduced visual noise

·

clearer hierarchy

·

Faster decisions, lower cognitive load

V3 was my exploration of a more focused, action-first direction for future refinement.

Impact

6 core workflowsdesigned end-to-end
20+ screens shippedacross key journeys
1 product pivot drivenby UX research

Product Strategy

User research directly influenced product direction. Patterns from interviews led to a shift toward networking-focused workflows, now shaping the roadmap.

Design Advocacy

Advocated for a more focused, calm product direction aligned with user needs. Moved away from overly playful and gamified approaches.

Collaboration

Defined core user flows, designed key product surfaces, and collaborated closely with engineers during implementation.

Reflection

This project shifted how I think about product design.

Users don’t need more features or data — they need clear direction at the right moment.

I learned that designing intelligent systems is not about showing everything. It’s about helping users decide what to do next.