LILT Editor: Improving Translation Flow & Focus
Role
Principal Designer
Responsibilities
- User Research & Field Studies
- Information Architecture
- Interface Design & Optimization
- Usability Testing & Metrics
Collaborated with
TL;DR
Professional linguists were losing focus and wasting time navigating between documents in large translation projects. I redesigned LILT's core editor interface to tighten navigation, improve information hierarchy, and maintain translator flow state. The result: satisfaction scores increased from 7.8 to 8.0, and projects completed without PM intervention rose by 20%.
Challenge & Impact
Professional translators work in flow state—deep concentration thinking in multiple languages. LILT's editor was perfect for single documents, but enterprise projects with 50+ documents created navigation nightmares that broke focus.
Core problem: Interface complexity stole cognitive resources that should be dedicated to translation quality.
- Results: Satisfaction scores increased 7.8→8.0, 20% reduction in PM intervention, faster completion times
- Approach: Ethnographic research with live projects, redesigned navigation hierarchy, streamlined UI for focus
- Key insight: Show context without navigation—eliminate need to click by surfacing relevant information in place
Design Process & Solutions
Research & Analysis
Observed 20+ professional linguists on live projects. Key insight: Translators needed project context without navigating away from current work.
Core Solutions
- Contextual progress indicators: Visual completion status without navigation clicks
- Progressive disclosure: Navigation appears on hover, hidden during deep work
- Keyboard-first design: All patterns optimized for shortcuts to maintain flow
- Smart defaults: Auto-surfaced next logical document based on workflow patterns
- Context preservation: Maintained cursor position and view state when switching documents
Validation & Iteration
A/B tested hierarchy approaches and progress methods. Feature flagged gradual rollout with real-world validation.
User Feedback
The improvements to navigation and focus received positive feedback from professional linguists:
"It is an excellent feature, thank you! I am using the 'open next document' button."
"I used it while working on small files, I love it!"
Key Learnings
Observe behavior, not words
Watching professionals work revealed patterns they couldn't articulate—behavior tells the real story.
Context beats navigation
Instead of faster navigation, eliminate the need to navigate by showing relevant information in context.
Cognitive load is a constraint
Every UI element that demands attention steals focus from the core work that matters.
Professional tools should disappear
Great tools let users focus entirely on their craft rather than fighting the interface.