2022 – 2024
Core
My Contributions
Stakeholder-driven Research
Full Product Design
Interactive Prototypes
Impact
Faster Project Completion Reduced User Confusion Lower Training Time
Skills & Tools
Figma & Framer Accessibility (WCAG) Frontend Collaboration
In many parts of the world, people don’t rely on written language. Oral communities, especially in remote areas across the Americas, Africa, and Asia, share knowledge through speech. The tool was created for those who don’t read, often work offline, and use shared devices. It helps local teams manage, record, and translate audio content in ways that respect their context and support their work.
Redesigned for flexibility and scale
The redesigned tool replaces a rigid and naturally outdated system that couldn’t adapt to the evolving needs of translation teams. Used today all over the globe, the tool makes it possible for local teams to create flexible audio-to-audio translation workflows tailored to their needs. With an icon-based and color-coded interface, the tool helps users know what’s interactive and what needs attention, supporting people with little or no tech experience as they translate audio and manage translation projects.
Creating a flexible workflow tailored to local needs, with a simple, color-coded, and icon-based interface.
Why was change needed?
The original tool was built for a simpler time, with fixed workflows and limited visual guidance. As more communities adopted it, the lack of flexibility became a growing issue. Local teams had to find workarounds, and the tool didn’t fulfill the complex needs of the projects or the needs of users unfamiliar with technology. The interface wasn’t as intuitive as it should have been given our personas, and it didn’t reflect how translation actually happened on the ground. This led to delays, frequent errors, and long training periods, even for team members supporting the work from the US. It highlighted the need for a clearer and more flexible system.
Inherited tool.
Learning without direct access
Because each oral community had unique needs and I didn’t have direct access to most end users, research took a different path. Ideally, each region would have its own custom tool. In practice, we had to plan a single tool for everyone, and I had to rely heavily on detailed reports from missionaries working all over the globe and conduct dozens of interviews with stakeholders across roles. We uncovered pain points, highlighted gaps in the legacy tool, and together shaped a more flexible design approach. To validate design ideas, I used field reports and feedback from missionaries who tested early versions with real users, along with in-house usability testing sessions in the US with non-tech-savvy participants.
Application of research to design decisions
How might we help translators know exactly what to do next?
By designing a focused interface that shows only the current task, with clear instructions and minimal distractions.
How might we reduce the burden of manual task assignment for coordinators?
By automating the assignment of lines to translators based on age, gender, and other relevant profile details, eliminating repetitive work while also making it easy to edit assignments and view the entire project at a glance.
How might we support better communication between collaborators?
By implementing communication tools such as error flagging, a comment section to describe issues, and spaces for information exchange between users working in the same language.
How might we make it easier to manage multilingual projects at scale?
By structuring the UI around language-specific views and creating flexible components that adapt to different project setups.
“Most of our translators aren’t used to working with software. We rely on memory and whatever tools we can adapt for internalization in the field.”
“Connectivity is a luxury. Simplicity isn’t just helpful. It’s the only way anything gets done out here.”
“The old tool made us work around it. We need something that works with the way we actually translate.”
“Our teams don’t read scripts. They listen, try to understand the stories, repeat, and check tone. Anything visual has to be intuitive without needing instructions.”
“Colors help us know what to do next. If the button is, say, is we stop to check what’s happening. If it's green, we press it. We don’t read menus. We follow patterns.”
“Some people had never used a computer before. They understand pictures. They understand voices and tones. They don’t understand forms, folders, buttons.”
“The waveform tells us if the recording is working. If it's flat, something's wrong. That's all we need to know in most cases.”
— excerpts from missionary field reports
Application of research to design decisions
How might we design a visual system that works without text?
To support non-readers, the interface relies heavily on icons, colors, and illustrations. Each action, role, and status was represented visually to reduce reliance on written language. Instead of long instructions, users interact with large, tappable areas, clear feedback states, and consistent visual cues. Color codes help indicate what’s clickable and what needs attention, while illustrations reinforce meaning in key moments.
How might we create clarity around roles and tasks?
Translation projects involve multiple people, but the old system treated everyone basically the same. The redesign introduced clearer role separation for translators, reviewers, and coordinators. Each role have access only to what they need, reducing confusion and helping users focus. Tasks are broken into simple, linear steps.
Flexibility was essential
No two teams work exactly the same way. The new tool lets project coordinators build workflows that fit the needs of their specific context, whether that means skipping steps, repeating them, or assigning roles differently. Once the structure is set, the experience becomes guided and predictable, helping teams work faster while staying aligned.
Workflows structured to guide, but flexible enough to adapt.
Looking back
Designing for oral communities challenged many of my usual UX assumptions. Without direct access to users, I had to rely on and trust secondhand insights feedback over traditional mixed-method research approaches. It pushed me to focus entirely on the problem and to simplify, prioritize visual clarity, and think in systems that could flex without overwhelming users. The result isn’t perfect, but it’s grounded in reality and built to adapt. If anything, this project reinforced the value of designing with humility and listening closely, especially when others know the users better than I do.
About me
I'm originally from Brazil & moved to the United States to expand my horizons. I'm a passionate, hard worker who strives for growth and success, continuously gaining expertise in the human brain to craft effective designs for all, guided by problem solving and simplicity. Collaborating with others to share ideas and provide impactful stakeholder solutions is what I enjoy most.
