LILT Editor: Improving Translation Flow & Focus
Role
Principal Designer
Team
1 Designer (me), 1 PM, 3-4 Engineers, 1 QA
Collaborated with
TL;DR
Redesigned translation editor for enterprise teams with 50+ documents, increasing satisfaction from 7.8→8.0 and reducing PM escalations by 20% by maintaining linguist flow state through contextual navigation.
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.
Interface complexity stole cognitive resources that should be dedicated to translation quality.
- Satisfaction scores increased 7.8→8.0, 20% reduction in PM intervention, faster completion times
- Ethnographic research with live projects, redesigned navigation hierarchy, streamlined UI for focus
- 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—translators needed project context without navigating away from current work, and understanding 'why' linguists lose focus shaped every navigation decision.
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 with feature flagged gradual rollout and 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.
Broader impact
The flow-state optimization work established core principles that guide all subsequent UX decisions:
Cognitive load as constraint
Every UI element competes for attention—designing for flow means ruthlessly removing friction and showing only what's needed, when it's needed.
Behavior over words
Ethnographic observation revealed patterns users couldn't articulate—watching professionals work tells the real story.
Context beats navigation
Instead of faster navigation, eliminate the need to navigate by surfacing relevant information in context—a pattern now applied across LILT's interfaces.
Tools should disappear
Great interfaces let users focus on their craft—professional tools become invisible when they work well.
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