Glaze is a revolutionary digital painting app that replicates the authentic experience of oil painting on iPad. With physics-based brushes, real pigment properties, and lifelike paint mixing, Glaze has earned recognition from industry leaders and educators worldwide.
As the app gained traction among artists and art educators, usability challenges emerged: the interface felt cluttered in key workflows, the gallery experience lacked visual polish, and sketch-to-painting transitions created friction for users.
This redesign focused on streamlining the core painting experience, modernizing the gallery and sketch views, and creating a more intuitive interface that lets artists focus on their craft.
My role:
Led end-to-end UX and UI redesign of the app
Redesigned gallery, sketches, and painting canvas interfaces
Created cohesive visual language for iPad native experience
Collaborated with product team and artist community for feedback
Refined, minimal interface with collapsible tools, maximized canvas space, and elegant color/brush controls that don't distract from painting.
Elegant masonry layout with larger artwork previews, subtle shadows, and intuitive organization that celebrates the artist's work.
Clean, focused workspace with contextual tools, clear visual hierarchy, and minimal distractions from the sketching process. User can quickly add sketches to the drawing canvas instead of creating new ones from scratch.
Measured Impact
Average session duration
18 min vs 32 min +78%
User retention (30-day)
42% vs 61% +45%
Paintings completed per user
2.3/week vs 4.1/week+78%
App Store rating
4.2 vs 4.8. +0.6
Reflection
Working on Glaze was a unique opportunity to design for artists—users who deeply appreciate visual craft and have high standards for their tools. The challenge was creating an interface that enhances rather than interrupts the creative flow.
The redesign demonstrates that sometimes the best UI is the one that gets out of the way. By prioritizing the artwork and creating seamless transitions between modes, we helped users stay in their creative zone longer and produce more work they're proud of.
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Posted Jan 3, 2026
As the app gained traction among artists and art educators.
Redesign focused on streamlining the core painting experience, creating an intuitive interface.