By giving Outlook a modern UI and rethinking its information architecture, I turned a cluttered experience into a calm, functional, and user-friendly space.

Here’s what was tripping users up:

Too much, too soon: Right after login, users were hit with walls of information and tons of disabled buttons. It was hard to know where to start.

Same actions, different places: Repeating the same steps across different parts of the platform wasn’t just annoying—it slowed everything down.

Vague warnings: Important alerts felt like riddles. Instead of helping, they left users guessing.

Cluttered inbox: The email layout was visually overwhelming, making it hard to find anything quickly.

I ran the heuristic analysis, restructured the information architecture, redesigned the UI, and prototyped key flows for validation.

Although I didn’t run fresh interviews for this redesign, I based my decisions on common usability heuristics and observable pain points within the UI. The overwhelming clutter and lack of affordances were red flags from the start.

Removed Disabled Buttons: If something's not usable, why show it? I removed all disabled buttons from key pages, keeping the interface clean and actionable.

→ This reduced friction and gave users a stronger sense of control.

Streamlined Redundant Actions: Streamlined Redundant Actions.

→ Less clicking around. More getting things done.

Clearer Warnings, Better Feedback: Redesigned alert messages now come with clear language and visible, meaningful call-to-actions.

→ No more guesswork—just straightforward next steps.

Cleaner, Friendlier Email Layout: I redesigned the inbox to highlight what really matters: the sender and subject. Less clutter, more clarity.

→ Now users can scan and find what they need in seconds—not minutes.

While this was a conceptual redesign, the goal was to improve overall usability and reduce cognitive load.

If implemented, I’d expect:

A drop in misclicks and user errors due to clearer UI signals.

Faster task completion (especially in email triage).

A more calm and positive user experience when dealing with inboxes.

This project reminded me how much design can shape emotion.

Something as small as a button or layout decision can turn a stressful experience into a calm, empowering one.

My biggest takeaway?