Problem
How do you search 1400 fields when 400 was already overwhelming?
A materials search application was being integrated with 1,000 new data fields to serve multiple departments. Without intervention, this increase would compound existing search problems and make the system unusable.
Solution
An intent-driven query builder that adapts to user goals without enforcing roles, balancing flexibility, clarity, and speed.
Intent-driven entry point
Users can build multi-attribute queries using:
AND / OR logic.
Expanded operators (range, null, partial matches)
This allows users to start broad, refine progressively, and stay in control of precision.
Save queries and Shareable templates
Users can save complex queries and reuse or share them as templates, reducing repetitive work and ensuring consistency across workflows.
Traceability and transparency in results
Clear visibility into unmatched results and searched fields, turning results from a guessing game into a verifiable iterative process.
In-search editing
Users can edit, duplicate, or refine queries directly within search without losing context or navigating away.
Customizable data views and enhanced results
Different tasks required different result layouts
Simplified the manage column experience
Introduced Search field chips to customize the query
Role
As the sole product designer on this project, I owned the end-to-end search experience. My responsibility wasn’t just to design a new interface, but to challenge a proposed persona-based approach, validate how users truly build queries, and translate those insights into a flexible, intent-driven system.
My work involved:
Understanding how users approach complex queries through interviews.
Validating assumptions and observing their search behavior through workshops.
Collaborating with PMs and developers to balance usability with technical scalability.
Research
Our customers didn't trust the current search experience and the results.
Despite a powerful backend, users frequently double-checked results or avoided advanced search altogether. While technically accurate, the system lacked transparency and alignment with users' search behaviors.
Cross-functional interviews with 20+ users helped uncover where trust eroded and clarified which search capabilities were essential to include in the MVP.
Validation workshop, iterating & testing
Exploring product direction before committing to a full redesign.
Stakeholders were confident in the persona-based solution. User interviews suggested otherwise, and we needed evidence, not opinions, to change the roadmap.
Critical questions:
Do users search within role boundaries, or do they need flexibility?
What level of flexibility and control over their search queries?
From this concept testing and query building workshop, we discovered that simplicity does not equal fewer options. Users wanted powerful logic, but expressed it visually and progressively.
Testing and design decisions
Converging on interaction patterns that preserve control at the point of decision.
After validating what users needed to construct effective queries, we tested two entry-point interaction models: query-first and results-driven. Users preferred neither in isolation.
Users wanted early visibility into results, the ability to refine intent after seeing data, and confidence that the system was responding exactly to their inputs. Linear search flows broke this mental model and reduced trust.
Core Interaction model for the final design
Enable users to edit, refine, and take action on queries directly from the results page, without restarting the flow.
The result
From focused query building to editable results, every interaction prioritizes user control and visibility.
An advanced search experience that adapts to how users think, refine, and decide, without enforcing roles or rigid flows.
Impact
The project shifted the organization’s perspective from persona-based assumptions to intent-driven design, grounding decisions in user intent.
Increased user confidence in finding accurate materials.
Improved material discoverability, accelerating downstream processes.
Enhanced traceability and visibility, enabling more informed decision-making
Reduced time spent manually verifying search results.
Ultimately, the project established a new design foundation that balanced business flexibility with user clarity and trust.
Reflection
This project reaffirmed the importance of evidence over assumption; that even well-intentioned business goals need validation through user behavior.
Guiding the team through this shift taught me how to balance between organizational priorities and user realities, while keeping the design grounded in clarity and purpose.
Designing a technically complex system with intuitive usability demanded strategic prioritization, iterative testing, and close collaboration with data and engineering partners.
Most importantly, it reinforced my belief that impactful design isn’t about adding capabilities, but about reducing complexity so users can focus on what truly matters.