APPARA
ENTITIES
TL;DR
Appara’s Entities were powerful but overwhelming: dense screens, no clear hierarchy, and a mega modal for everything. I led a redesign that simplified the information architecture, introduced inline editing, and shipped Appara's first design system — resulting in faster workflows, happier developers, and a consistent customer experience.
- Project Manager: Maria Ghassemi
- Product Designers: Frankie Radner + Alexandra Livsey
- Lead Developer: Josh Dollinger
The Problem.
Appara ‘s Entities were the back bone of the software. They contained a ton of valuable data, but with no real information architecture to organize it users were met with a wall of fields, many of which would be empty if not filled in. When they went to edit they were met with a mega-modal every field, every tab, all editable at the same time… which doesn’t sound too bad, at first. until you forget to save and lose hours of work. Not to mention if you did hit save all the data would be written to the database at the same time which made it incredibly slow.
The Process.
Mapped the data, distinguishing what belonged solely within the entity versus what aspects linked with other parts of the software.
Rebuilt the information architecture from the ground up, identifying patterns and prioritizing clarity over density.
Gathered real customer feedback. Rather than showing users a prototype with pristine mock data we introduced the redesign gradually by allowing users easily flip between the beta and classic version. This allowed users to try it with their real data, so we could identify gaps without risk.
The Result.
Happier customers and noticeably faster workflows
A simplified, less confusing experience
Screens that show only the information users actually need — no more scrolling past unfilled fields
Smoother, more successful sales demos, which helped drive an increase in sales
The Appara Records redesign helped position Appara as a serious contender in the Canadian legal software space. Since launch, it's been well received by customers — and played a direct role in Appara landing its largest client to date: a law firm with over 300 lawyers and 500+ legal professionals.
Beyond the redesign.
This project grew into a full platform overhaul and the creation of Appara's first design system — a modern visual language paired with reusable, interactive components. That system has since sped up every design effort that's followed it.
Key improvements included more intuitive navigation and layout, stronger accessibility, a simplified editing experience, upgraded corporate minute books, and a new document generation feature.