Case study2026BoliviaCultural preservation

I redesigned Simi
from the
inside out.

A product with broken identity, disconnected tokens and a blog with no exit. I audited it, researched it with users, redesigned it.

Product OwnerUX/UI LeadUX ResearchDesign System
Active users
+33%
first month, no acquisition investment
Usability complaints
−80%
vs. historical baseline
CLS on mobile
<0.1
Lighthouse - target achieved
01 - Technical audit

Seven flaws in the product.
None of them superficial.

  • Inconsistent logo between header and footer
    Visual trust broken on every section change
  • Color tokens in empty build file
    Wrong colors in production - #58CB05 vs. official #59CB07
  • Invisible favicon on sub-routes
    Relative paths broke identity on /juegos, /glosario
  • Language and dark mode selectors with no functionality
    Controls visible on screen that did not respond to touch
  • Blog without editorial structure
    No excerpts, no reading time, no hierarchy between cards
  • Dead ends at the end of every article
    Only exit: the browser back button
  • High CLS on mobile due to unsized images
    Jumping content during load on low-end devices
BeforeAfter
Different logo per sectionConsistent visual identity
Tokens outside the build fileToken system migrated and documented
Navigation with href="#" - no real functionFunctional navigation with ARIA semantics
Blog without structure - dead ends at the endResponsive grid + contextual navigation
Unilateral lang="es"Explicit lang="qu" + ARIA on key components
BEFORE · Screenshot - original state
Replace with real screenshot of prior state
02 - User research

Five users. Three tasks. One pattern.

UserAge / DeviceTask 1 - DiscoverabilityTask 2 - InterfaceTask 3 - Share
Belén26 / DesktopQuick success - visual noiseOversized menuFailure - flow non-existent
Juan Pablo20 / MobileLate success - high frictionCritical bugs presentFailure - distraction
Pedro25 / DesktopAbandonment - went to GoogleBroken routingManual success - copied URL
Camila23 / DesktopMid success - fatigueNo editorial structureAbandonment - text density
Diego28 / MobileHigh cognitive frictionNo summaries visibleLow engagement

"I had to Google it because from the app I couldn't figure out how to get back to the blog."

- Pedro, 25, advanced technical user
Dead ends

No contextual navigation at the end of each article. Only exit: the back button.

Visual noise

Cards without hierarchy created decision fatigue before the user even started reading.

No native sharing

No participant successfully shared an article from the interface. One copied the URL manually.

Broken brand

Different logos, incorrect tokens, missing favicon. No sustained visual coherence.

03 - Design decisions

Five changes and their whys.

01
Token system

Migrated the official palette to the correct file, removed all hardcoded hex values, and formally documented the palette. The qumir, caramel, yawar palette - now as tokens, not loose values.

Tailwind CSSDesign Tokens
02
Blog grid

Responsive grid with breakpoints (1/2/3 columns), fixed 16:10 aspect containers, ~140-character excerpt, and estimated reading time visible on each card.

CSS GridResponsive
03
Native sharing

Web Share API with clipboard fallback in browsers without native support. Accessible toast with role="status" as confirmation. One participant had manually copied the URL from the address bar.

Web Share APIARIA
04
Semantic navigation

Migration to slug-based routes with contextual navigation at the end of each article. Double benefit: usability and SEO. Dead ends eliminated.

SEORouting
05
Bilingual accessibility

Explicit lang="qu" labelling on Quechua content blocks, ARIA labels and semantic roles in navigation. Preserving an indigenous language means making it accessible to everyone - including those who use assistive technology.

"Preserving an indigenous language means making it accessible to everyone - including screen reader users."

- Design decision #05
WCAG AAlang="qu"ARIA
04 - The outcome

What I changed moved the number.

+33%
Active users - first month, no acquisition spend
−80%
Usability complaints vs. historical baseline
<0.1
CLS on mobile devices - Lighthouse
Direct attributions
Design system with official tokens - the first functional one in production.
Technical spec with Given/When/Then acceptance criteria - handoff ambiguity eliminated.
Sharing flow activated - non-existent before the redesign.
Product roadmap for next quarter generated and approved.