CATIA V5 Interface Re-Design

Project Overview

This project was spawned from the desire to improve upon internal UI that engineering teams utilize. I have worked with several engineers who create internal software for teams without a dedicated UI/UX department. Because these internal software systems are often being used to create immensely innovative products or data analysis, I believe that creating better UI/UX for these interfaces can increase productivity and the platforms designated usage.

I think of UI/UX in this case-scenario as a way of taking all the hard work from highly complex systems and packaging it in a way that translates universally within teams. It can also increase the ability to share the software and in research fields, help leverage work already done, increasing field wide productivity and project management.

Tools

Figma, Blender, Illustrator, Photoshop

Role

Sole project contributor

Duration

In progress

Research

After initial research of Dassault Systèmes and competitive analysis of other top companies offering similar engineering software to Catia V5, I am certain that a complete redesign of their platform would result in an increase in their market share. This would make any redesign costs well worth their time and investment. Below is an image of their current dashboard interface within a 3DEXPERIENCE application.

Their main competition currently is Autodesk AutoCAD, they hold 27% of the market share and Dassault Systèmes collectively holds 25.5%, with the Dassault Catia vertical making up 3 .32%.

Their main competition currently is Autodesk AutoCAD, they hold 27% of the market share and Dassault Systèmes collectively holds 25.5%, with the Dassault Catia vertical making up 3.32%.

After reviewing AutoCAD and weighing the key differences between each platform, one of the main benefits of AutoCAD is its platform design. However, despite Dassault Systèmes current outdated UI, they still hold a significant percent of the industry market share. This leaves me to believe that the essential software products they provide offer tools other companies can not offer within one platform.

While this is true now, in order to survive long-term, companies have to adapt and change to the demands of the user market to stay competitive. According to McKinsey, on average companies that switch to being design-led report 32% increased revenue and 56% growth rate. I think in order for Dassault Systèmes to grow and maintain their current standing, they will have to create an interface that rivals their main competitors.

Platform Analysis

My initial design ideas were based on research of other platforms and companies with a large number of software verticals. I took a lot of inspiration from Adobe, Apple, Blender and Airtable. My designs currently include a visually simplified interface with more intuitive navigation, tool bars and app icons.

My sketches for this interface redesign were primarily focused on how to make navigation of the 3DEXPERIENCE apps more intuitive. Specifically, the navigation compass that looks like a blue play button in the upper lefthand corner of the dashboard.

Sketches & Concept Validation

When first navigating the platform, it took a long time to realize that the play button in the upper right hand corner was the main way to navigate from the landing dashboard to the 3D apps which are the cornerstone of the service.

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The 3DEXPERIENCE app icons were modified to be reminiscent of Apple and Adobe icon systems, this is because the majority of users today are familiar with these visual associations.

Main Navigation & Tool Bar Solution

The compass play button was replaced by the application icon located in the top left navigation bar. The main app icon in the side bar both opens and collapses the app navigation window. This offers more flexibility to increase the usable screen space if designing in app, but allows easy access to navigation if needed.

The app button then expands into the four separate verticals. These icons then make it very clear which aspect of the platform you are navigating. Furthermore, the simplified icon branding will make it easier for a user to visually remember and navigate to the desired products.

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Final Design Solution

The design screens for the main dashboard of the Catia 3DEXPERIENCE platform are redesigned with the idea to take an already existing successful product and increase its value even more. If an employee spends a lot of their day working within this program, making the platform settings flexible could increase enjoyment of use and thus productivity.

With any large scale interface changes, I always think of the success Google has had with redesigning its Gmail interface. They have proven time and again that it’s always a good idea to have slow roll outs when doing large scale product redesign. In addition, they give consumers the option to toggle between the current setup and the new one. This allows users to transition slowly if they don’t want to relearn a new setup all at once.

UX TOOLS

PROGRAMMING

ADOBE CC

AUDIO / VIDEO

OTHER WEB

PROJECT MGMT

SEO / SEM

HOSTING & VERSION CONTROL