Excelra Gostar

Overview

![Excelra Gostar platform overview](https://www.twine.net/signin

GOSTAR is one of the world’s largest medicinal chemistry databases, used by pharmaceutical researchers to find drug candidates across millions of scientific records, compounds, assays, and publications.

I was the sole designer on the platform’s search redesign — making a powerful but complex system easier to navigate without reducing analytical capabilities.

Understanding the Search Problem

The platform had accumulated many search methods and filters over years. Two very different user groups needed support: those wanting quick answers, and expert researchers needing precise control over complex scientific queries.

![Original design](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Redesigned search](https://www.twine.net/signin

Multiple Paths to Discovery

I designed multiple entry points depending on user goals:

• Basic Search for quick compound lookup
• Basic Search + Filters for experienced users
• Guided Search for complex research workflows

I studied search patterns from Gmail, Jira, and Amazon — many proved more intuitive than patterns in scientific software.

![Basic search](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Search with filters](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Complex query](https://www.twine.net/signin

Guided Search

The most challenging part — helping users build specific scientific searches without being overwhelmed by available parameters. Progressive disclosure shows complexity only when needed. Live result counts update as users refine queries, reducing trial-and-error.

![Guided search](https://www.twine.net/signin

Reimagining Results

Previous results spanned 26 separate sections. I reorganized them into 5 primary categories: Structures, Activities, Assays, Documents, and Development Compounds — improving hierarchy and reducing duplication.

![Search results](https://www.twine.net/signin

Quick Search & Saved Research

Quick search uses predictive text for power users. Saved queries let researchers monitor changes over time and receive updates when new data appears.

![Quick search](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Saved searches](https://www.twine.net/signin

Impact

Search-to-results time dropped from 30–60+ seconds to ~10 seconds. The redesign’s success led to a broader partnership with Excelra and additional product initiatives.

Listrak

Overview

![Listrak platform overview](https://www.twine.net/signin

Listrak is an enterprise marketing automation platform used by 1,000+ retailers and brands to manage communication across email, SMS, push notifications, and other channels.

I worked as part of a three-designer team on the platform redesign, focusing on navigation, feature architecture, campaign workflows, and the automation builder. The goal was to untangle years of accumulated complexity while preserving the flexibility enterprise marketers relied on.

Understanding a Complex Existing System

The platform had years of business logic, advanced workflows, and interconnected features. We ran regular workshops with stakeholders and domain experts, and I actively used both Listrak and competing platforms to understand real workflows.

The project became less about visual redesign and more about restructuring complexity into something users could navigate naturally.

![Configurable dashboard](https://www.twine.net/signin

Redesigning Campaign Automation

The original workflow builder had become difficult to scan and maintain. I restructured the automation experience to improve workflow readability, node organization, hierarchy clarity, conditional logic visibility, and orchestration.

The redesigned builder introduced cleaner node structure, improved grouping, and predictable interaction patterns — making large workflows manageable without limiting functionality.

![Original automation](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Redesigned automation](https://www.twine.net/signin

Multi-Channel Campaign Workflows

The redesign created a unified campaign workflow where marketers could orchestrate Email, SMS, web push, and mobile push from one place — reducing duplicated workflows and making channel relationships more visible.

![Broadcasting setup](https://www.twine.net/signin

Audience Logic & Segmentation

We designed visual tools showing how audience groups overlapped and how notifications would be distributed across channels — making campaign setup more predictable and reducing mistakes.

![Audience coverage](https://www.twine.net/signin

Flexible Content Experience

The no-code email builder gave marketers visual drag-and-drop editing with reusable content blocks. Event-specific content blocks could be injected into existing campaigns automatically, reducing duplication and simplifying maintenance.

![Email builder](https://www.twine.net/signin

Impact

The redesign transformed Listrak into a more scalable platform while preserving advanced flexibility. Restructured navigation, simplified workflows, and modernized orchestration created a stronger foundation for future growth.

Design System

Overview

![EPM Design System overview](https://www.twine.net/signin

Over nine years I built and evolved the product’s design system through four major generations. What started as a visual consistency initiative became a design-to-code ecosystem supporting thousands of screens, dozens of modules, multiple themes, and a shared React component library.

I defined component specs, maintained the Figma library, collaborated with developers, and shaped long-term strategy.

Building the First Foundation

No centralized system existed when I joined. I conducted a year-long audit to consolidate inconsistent patterns across thousands of screens into a shared visual language.

![First components library](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Components evolution](https://www.twine.net/signin

From Design System to Design-to-Code

I worked with developers to translate components into reusable React code. Once implemented, React became the source of truth — more stable and governed than Figma alone.

![React component library](https://www.twine.net/signin
![React documentation](https://www.twine.net/signin

Scaling Across Thousands of Screens

The library shifted design work from creating interfaces from scratch to assembling proven building blocks. It improved consistency, accessibility, development efficiency, onboarding, and overall design quality.

![Modern components](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Component examples](https://www.twine.net/signin

Four Generations of Evolution

• Gen 1 — Built from scratch in Sketch to standardize the product
• Gen 2 — Migration from Sketch to Figma
• Gen 3 — Refactoring around Figma variants and nested components
• Gen 4 — Complete redesign using variables/tokens for theming and scalability

Each generation responded to changes in product needs, team workflows, and tooling.

![Light theme](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Dark theme](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Contrast theme](https://www.twine.net/signin

Governance & Collaboration

New components were introduced only after confirming existing solutions couldn’t solve the problem. The global Infor design organization regularly consulted me while developing their own library.

![Component usage examples](https://www.twine.net/signin

Impact

The system became the foundation of a large enterprise product — enabling consistency, accessibility, faster workflows, and a shared language between design and engineering that evolved alongside the product for nearly a decade.

MS Excel Plugin

My Role

![Infor EPM Excel Plugin overview](https://www.twine.net/signin

I designed an enterprise Excel plugin that let finance teams work with OLAP databases directly in their spreadsheet workflow — browsing data, building reports, exploring hierarchies, and writing back values.

I led UX research, workflow design, information architecture, and interaction design. The product later became the foundation for additional EPM tools.

![Excel plugin in context](https://www.twine.net/signin

The Challenge

Existing OLAP tools were difficult to learn and disconnected from Excel workflows. The goal: bring powerful database functionality into a narrow Office side panel without overwhelming users.

Key requirements:

• Browsing multidimensional datasets & hierarchies
• Creating reports with filtering and sorting
• Writeback operations
• Advanced analytical workflows

The biggest UX challenge was balancing power with clarity — the interface needed to serve expert analysts daily while remaining scannable and scalable for years of feature growth.

![Main page of the Plugin](https://www.twine.net/signin

Research & Discovery

I researched existing tools, worked with stakeholders and budgeting teams, and created wireframe prototypes focused on information architecture over visual polish.

Design principles: clear hierarchy, progressive disclosure, scalable navigation, contextual actions, and reusable interaction structures.

Evolution Over Years

The plugin evolved for 6+ years: advanced database browsing, rule-based report selections, calculated elements, and global/axis-level filtering. The original UX foundation remained stable throughout.

The product direction later evolved toward AI-first interactions — rethinking how users start analytical workflows through natural language while maintaining full control.

![On premise tool](https://www.twine.net/signin
![Modern version](https://www.twine.net/signin
![AI-first prototype](https://www.twine.net/signin
![AI-first detail](https://www.twine.net/signin

Impact

Adopted by enterprise clients for large-scale financial reporting. The UX architecture supported years of growth without major redesigns, and many patterns became the foundation for web-based AdHoc reporting tools.

Overview

![AdHoc Reporting Tool overview](https://www.twine.net/signin

A web-based analytical reporting tool built on top of the Excel Plugin experience. It brought multidimensional data exploration into the browser with expanded visualization and dashboard capabilities.

I designed the reporting experience: Advanced Grid, interactive data exploration, chart integration, report styling, and information architecture.

From Static Reports to Interactive Analysis

Before AdHoc, users consumed data through pre-built reports with limited ability to explore underlying data or build their own analyses.

The goal was giving business users direct access to multidimensional data without requiring deep OLAP knowledge — making millions of interconnected data points accessible without overwhelming complexity.

![Interactive grid](https://www.twine.net/signin

Reusing What Already Worked

I intentionally preserved the report configuration workflow from the Excel Plugin. This reduced learning curve, accelerated adoption, and allowed users to move seamlessly between Excel and web while benefiting from browser capabilities.

![Report configuration](https://www.twine.net/signin

Designing the Advanced Grid

The centerpiece — a grid that transformed from a passive reporting surface into an active exploration tool:

• Expand/collapse hierarchical headers
• Drill into data and swap axes
• Sort, rank, and filter values
• Inspect data origins
• Multi-directional selection
• Keyboard shortcuts for power users

![Advanced Grid](https://www.twine.net/signin

Making Financial Reports Easier to Read

I designed a rule-based styling system — users define formatting once and it automatically applies across dynamic reports: totals, subtotals, exceptions, and custom logic.

![Styled Income Statement](https://www.twine.net/signin

Connecting Data and Visualization

Charts work as an extension of reporting, not a separate feature. Users move between tabular and visual representations maintaining context. Reports and visualizations can be saved as dashboard components.

![Charts and visualization](https://www.twine.net/signin

AI-Assisted Analytics

The latest evolution: users ask questions like “What was my revenue in EMEA last year?” and receive direct answers or generated reports. AI became a new entry point — balancing speed of natural language with transparency into how results are generated.

![AI-assisted analytics](https://www.twine.net/signin

Impact

Transformed reporting from static consumption into interactive analysis. The Advanced Grid, rule-based styling, charts, and dashboards became foundational building blocks for additional products in the Infor EPM ecosystem.