Autodesk – how did we change the way structural engineers work?

Autodesk React Structures, which we designed, premiered in 2016. Before this happened, our team had to find answers to many questions and speak a lot with structural engineers all over the world to understand how they work.

Results of our work

50
interviews with engineers
50
800
navigation elements structured
800
1000
unique icons designed
1000

Autodesk Inc.

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 3D design software. One of the company’s flagship products is AutoCAD, launched in 1982. The company’s solutions are used by engineers and designers in the manufacturing, construction, media, and entertainment industries, both professionally and amateur.

What were Autodesk’s objectives?

We were working on a new interface for Autodesk React Structures software – an application for structural engineers. The goal was to design a new version of the desktop solution – RSA-ROBOT, which had been on the market for several years and needed to be redesigned according to the company’s new standards. One of the goal was to introduce the element of the ribbon to the new version of the application. Ribbon is a pattern of navigation that allows to place more features on the screens relevant for current user action and process stage.

Autodesk Edisonda ikony

How did we approach this?

  • We planned and discussed the whole design process with Autodesk team,
  • We analysed the use of the application’s functions and usage statistics,
  • We did an audit of the current solution and desk research,
  • We conducted 50 interviews with engineers from all over the world,
  • To design the information architecture we’ve conducted card-sorting,
  • Our UI team has created several hundred different designs and templates,
  • Over 1000 icons for different and very specific features have been designed in both light and dark mode.

What have we designed?

  • We changed the workflow of the main process, significantly reducing the time needed to conduct analysis,
  • We sorted over 800 navigation elements to build intuitive navigation,
  • We designed a new graphic interface based on Autodesk design system,
  • We prepared new data visualisations,
  • We created over 1 000 unique system icons,
  • We designed a design system for dialogs – popups.

Effects

  • Positive evaluation by experts,
  • Significantly improved usability of the software,
  • Consistent and usable interface,
  • Reduction in time necessary for creating a structure and conducting calculations,
  • Improvement in the work of engineers around the world.

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