Concept
Helix
Design systemA design system concept built to answer one question: how much of a product interface can be decided once and reused everywhere?
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ConceptWeb application · 2025
Meridian
Making the state of the business visible in one screen.
An operations platform concept for logistics teams who currently run scheduling across three spreadsheets and a group chat.
Overview
Status
Internal design and engineering exploration
Disciplines
- Product strategy
- UX architecture
- Web application
- Backend
Capabilities used
The challenge we set ourselves
Mid-size operations teams rarely lack data. They lack a single place where the current state is true. Schedules live in one file, capacity in another, exceptions in someone's messages.
We wanted to see whether a single operational view could absorb that without forcing a rigid process onto teams that survive on informal handling of exceptions.
Approach
StrategyDesignTechnology
01
Strategy
We modelled a day in the life of a dispatcher rather than a feature list. The design constraint that came out of it: no core decision should require more than two screens, and the exception path must be as fast as the happy path.
02
Design
A dense, calm interface built on a strict 8px grid with a monospace numeric column so scanning is possible at speed. Status is carried by shape and label as well as colour, so the board stays readable for colour-blind operators and in bright warehouse light.
03
Technology
Next.js with server components for the read-heavy board, a Postgres schema modelled around events rather than mutable rows, and a websocket layer so two dispatchers never overwrite each other silently.
Outcome
What the exploration produced
A working interactive prototype covering scheduling, exception handling and capacity view, plus a documented data model and component library we can adapt for a real engagement.
- Workflow model
- Interactive prototype
- Interface system
- Event-based data schema
Why there are no numbers here. This is an internal concept, not a client engagement. We do not publish conversion rates, revenue or satisfaction figures that no real deployment produced.
Capabilities behind this project.
- Web ApplicationsInternal tools and customer platforms that replace the spreadsheet everyone is quietly afraid of.
- UI/UX DesignInterfaces designed for the person using them under pressure, not for a portfolio shot.
- API & Backend DevelopmentThe layer nobody sees until it fails — data models, services and integrations built to hold.
Start here
Build something like this.
If this is close to the problem you have, tell us about it. We will be specific about how we would approach yours.