Powerful tools with too much effort to use them
Vibe Canvas helps people sketch ideas, prepare visual content, discuss information, and annotate presentations on Vibe Board's large touchscreen or through the web.
PIC: Original 2.0 Canvas on TV & PC to show the overall setup + PAINS: oversimplified navi and unfamiliar icons.
But unfamiliar icons made tools difficult to recognize, useful actions were hidden behind menus or gestures, and secondary settings occupied space that could have been better used for everyday tasks.
The problem wasn't one broken feature. It was the small interruptions scattered throughout the experience that made people pause to search, guess, and navigate when they wanted to draw, explain something, or prepare content.
My challenge was to make frequently needed controls easier to reach and unfamiliar actions easier to understand, so Canvas could support people's work instead of interrupting it.
01 — Put the right controls within reach
Canvas already prioritized brushes on TV and content-creation tools on the PC. However, the layout and behavior of its controls didn't fully reflect how people actually used them.
Usage data helped me identify where the interface was taking up unnecessary space and where access could be improved.
On TV, 85% of sessions used brushes only while another finding showed that around 76% of users had only 3 or 4 brushes on their toolbar. I made the TV brush bar shorter and scrollable, keeping commonly needed brushes accessible without occupying unnecessary screen space.
Web usage showed a different pattern, with shapes, sticky notes, and uploads playing important roles in content creation.
I refined the existing platform priorities further in Canvas 3.0: giving brushes greater prominence on TV while separating other tools, and making creation tools more directly accessible on the web while grouping brushes under one entry.
I also reconsidered when tool settings needed to stay visible.
Behavioral data suggested that object types were selected roughly five times more often before creating an object than afterward. For creation tools, I made selection menus close after placement, leaving more room to work while keeping styling options available when needed.
For brushes, I kept primary controls readily accessible and collapsed secondary settings into menus that users could open when necessary.
These changes helped the toolbar use space more purposefully while reducing unnecessary steps and distractions during work.
Canvas offered similar controls across TV and web, even though people used them differently.
Usage data revealed a clear distinction: 85% of TV Canvas sessions used brushes only, 2% used other tools only, and 13% used both. Web usage leaned toward content creation, with shapes, sticky notes, and uploads among its most-used tools.
I used these differences to reconsider which controls deserved space and immediate access on each platform.
In Canvas 2.0, I made the TV brush bar scrollable and reduced its fixed height, informed by data showing that approximately 76.6% of users had only three or four brushes.
I also redesigned how menus behaved during work. For brushes, primary choices remained accessible while less frequently adjusted settings were collapsed. For creation tools such as shapes and sticky notes, selection menus closed after an object was created, freeing space for users to continue working.
These changes became the foundation for Canvas 3.0's broader toolbar redesign.
On TV, brushes received greater prominence, while other tools were separated into nearby controls. On the web, I prioritized content-creation tools by keeping them visible and grouping brushes under a single entry.
Rather than giving both platforms the same toolbar, I adapted the interface to what people most often came to do.
02 — Help users understand tools without interrupting their work
Many Canvas tools relied on icons alone. Familiar brushes were relatively easy to recognize, but features such as eraser modes, selection methods, and sections required users to guess what each control meant.
The problem wasn't just understanding an icon for the first time. It was the repeated hesitation of trying to recall its meaning while switching tools during a session.
I addressed this by making controls explain themselves as people used them.
I replaced long, icon-only menus with more scannable layouts and visible labels, introduced contextual explanations for unfamiliar options, and brought previously hidden actions, such as clearing Canvas content, into more discoverable locations.
The same thinking carried into Canvas 3.0's navigation redesign.
Previously, important features were scattered across corner controls and hidden in menus whose purposes weren't obvious. I reorganized them around recognizable activities: file management on the top left, sharing and presentation on the top right, with view and page controls in their respective corners.
I also introduced visual indicators showing where the toolbar could be repositioned, making an otherwise hidden interaction easier to discover.
Across these changes, I wanted users to spend less time figuring out Canvas and more time using it.
After launch — When simplicity introduced new friction
One decision didn't work as well as expected.
I had collapsed optional brush settings to reduce clutter, but the available usage data couldn't tell us how often individual controls—particularly thickness—were needed during a session.
After launch, feedback revealed that some frequent users adjusted brush thickness repeatedly while working. Hiding it added steps to a familiar workflow.
I participated in restoring quicker access to thickness, making an exception to the original simplification approach.
The experience reinforced an important distinction: reducing visible controls doesn't necessarily reduce user effort. A setting's importance depends not only on how often it's used, but also on when users need it and how disruptive it is to access.
Outcome
The redesign delivered more accessible tools, clearer interactions, and a more polished experience across Canvas.
In post-launch research, approximately 78% of surveyed users reported being satisfied or highly satisfied, while 66% rated the workflow-efficiency improvements positively.
You can also find me on 💁
- 👨🏻💻 Resume
- 🎨 Behance
- 📱 +886 909607406
- 📧 a870588@gmail.com