Where ideas become decisions.

An enterprise idea management platform — built for companies that want to hear from everyone, not just the loudest voice in the room.

Role

Designe Lead + Designer 6 (led 5)

Team

Tremoloo

Platforms

Web · Mobile Native · Mobile Responsive

Focus

Idea management system

Our task was to transform a basic idea submission system into a platform that actually makes people want to participate. The challenge wasn't just the interface — it was designing for the full lifecycle of an idea, from a half-formed thought on a canvas to a decision that reaches leadership.

Our task was to transform a basic idea submission system into a platform that actually makes people want to participate. The challenge wasn't just the interface — it was designing for the full lifecycle of an idea, from a half-formed thought on a canvas to a decision that reaches leadership.

Challenges

From thought to submission

The old system assumed ideas arrived fully formed. Reality is messier — people need space to think out loud, collaborate, and only then commit to an idea. The canvas had to come before the form.

Two voters, one person

A manager is also an employee. The voting system had to handle both roles separately — with different weights, different moments, and different interfaces — without confusing the person holding both.

White-label for any brand

The product would be sold to different companies, each with their own colors and identity. The design had to be neutral enough to disappear into any brand without losing its own coherence.

My Role

I led a team of five designers across three platforms — owning the UX strategy, design system, client communication, and task distribution from start to finish.

UX strategy
Defined the full idea lifecycle: from collaborative canvas to structured submission to multi-stage voting

Pick & Build workshop
Designed and facilitated a stakeholder workshop to align on core UX decisions collaboratively before design began

Team direction
Distributed platforms and flows across the team, reviewed all output, and maintained consistency across web and mobile

Client communication
Presented strategy and progress directly to the client throughout

Key Design Decisions

The canvas comes before the form.
Ideas don't start as structured submissions, they start as fragments. We introduced a collaborative sticky-note canvas where employees can think together before committing to a formal idea. The transition from canvas to submission is intentional: you move forward when you're ready, not before.

Option considered

Start with a structured idea submission form

Decision made

Canvas first — give people space to think, then a clear path to formalize

Decisions made together, not delivered. Before any core element was finalized, I ran a Pick & Build workshop with the stakeholders. For each key decision — like navigation structure — I presented multiple options with clear tradeoffs, and let them choose. The workshop was designed to work whether you attended live or reviewed it async — so no one was excluded from the decision. The result: stakeholder buy-in from day one, and fewer revision cycles later.

One person, two voting identities.
A manager voting as an employee and as a manager in the same system is a real UX problem. We separated the two voting moments clearly — different timing, different context, different UI — so the same person never feels like they're being asked to be two people at once.

Gamification that serves the system, not itself.
Badges and points aren't decoration — they solve a real participation problem. Employees who vote earn recognition. The more they engage, the more visible their contribution becomes. Gamification here was a business decision, not a design flourish.

Neutral by design.
White-label meant the system had to disappear into any brand. Every color decision, every component, every spacing choice was tested against the question: does this still work in someone else's palette? The result was a design system built for invisibility coherent on its own, adaptable to anyone.

Option considered

Start with a structured idea submission form

Decision made

Canvas first — give people space to think, then a clear path to formalize

Solution

From primitive to platform.

Collaborative canvas Before an idea gets submitted, it gets built. Employees can open a canvas, drop sticky notes, invite colleagues, and think together — then formalize when the idea is ready. The same flow works for challenges: propose a solution, refine it collaboratively, then submit.

Multi-stage voting Voting happens in layers — employee vote first, management review second. Each stage has its own interface, its own weight, and its own moment. The system knows who you are and what stage you're in — and shows you exactly what's relevant.

Gamification Every vote earns a badge. Participation is visible, recognized, and rewarded. The gamification layer sits on top of the core experience without interrupting it — present enough to motivate, subtle enough to not distract.

White-label design system A component library built to be reskinned. Any company can apply their brand colors and the system adapts — typography, buttons, cards, status indicators — all built on a neutral foundation that holds together regardless of what palette gets applied.

Outcome

Innovative — their word, not ours.
The client's feedback: the platform moved from primitive to innovative. A system that used to collect ideas now facilitates the full journey from scattered thought to boardroom decision — across three platforms, five designers, and one coherent experience.