Taking LiftLabs from functional MVP to a field-ready fishing app
Part 2
After the initial research and design sprint, I continued developing LiftLabs toward a product that could withstand real-world use on the water. I focused on improving reliability, simplifying core workflows, strengthening interaction feedback, and creating a foundation for the next version of the product.
From proof of concept to real-world product
Following the initial research and design sprint, LiftLabs had moved from concept toward a functioning product ready for launch on the App Store and Google Play.
The next challenge was making sure the experience could hold up beyond a prototype. With the app approaching real-world testing with lobster fishers, I focused on identifying weaknesses in the existing experience, improving the core workflows, and creating a more consistent foundation for future development.
This phase involved a combination of UX problem solving, UI refinement, interaction design, authentication improvements, and exploration of how LiftLabs' growing data set could eventually create additional value for fishers.
The Challenge
The initial version of LiftLabs was built under a tight timeline, with functionality and proof of concept taking priority over refinement.
As the product moved closer to real-world use, that approach exposed a number of issues: layouts behaved differently across devices, important controls could become inaccessible, error states created confusion, and some workflows required unnecessary effort.
My goal was not simply to make the app look better. It was to make the existing product more reliable, understandable, and usable while establishing a stronger foundation for the next phase of development.
I focused on 4 areas
1
Reliability
Identify issues that could prevent users from completing core tasks.
2
Clarity
Provide stronger feedback so users always know what the system is doing.
3
Interaction
Provide stronger feedback so users always know what the system is doing.
4
Future
Explore how the product's data could create new value beyond basic lift management.
Finding the cracks in the experience
Before refining the visual design, I worked through the existing app to identify issues that could interfere with completing basic tasks.
Some problems were immediately visible, while others required testing specific scenarios, reproducing the behavior, and working with development to understand what was happening.
Three areas stood out: responsive behavior, keyboard interaction, and system feedback.
The interface wasn't adapting to different devices
Several elements in the existing app relied on fixed pixel dimensions, causing content to become clipped or creating awkward spacing across different screen sizes.
I worked with development to identify where these constraints were affecting the experience and moved affected elements toward more flexible sizing. This allowed the interface to adapt more naturally across devices while preserving hierarchy and access to important information.
We also found that the card-based structure was contributing to some of these challenges. On smaller screens, cards could constrain the amount of content visible and create unnecessary layers within the interface. Moving key screens toward a full-page layout gave content more room to breathe and created a more flexible structure that worked better across a range of mobile devices.
What changed
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Replaced rigid card layouts with full-page screens
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Introduced more flexible sizing
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Reduced clipping and awkward spacing
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Improved content visibility across screen sizes
Before
After
When the keyboard became part of the problem
One of the more difficult issues wasn't immediately obvious from the static interface.
In certain situations, opening the keyboard caused text fields, cards, or navigation controls to become hidden. Users could enter information but couldn't always see or access the controls needed to continue.
I addressed this by reducing content on affected screens, moving key information and controls higher in the interface, and replacing unnecessary text fields with dropdowns or simpler selection controls. I also redesigned these screens to minimize scrolling, keeping the most important information and actions visible within the available space.
I tested different screens and interaction scenarios, documented the conditions that triggered the issue, and worked with development to create a more efficient interaction pattern.
What changed
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Reduced unnecessary content
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Moved key actions higher on the screen
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Replaced unnecessary text fields with simpler controls
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Minimized scrolling
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Improved access to navigation and actions when the keyboard was open
Before
After
Keeping users informed about what's happening
One of the biggest opportunities I found was a lack of feedback during key actions. In several parts of the app, users would initiate an action but receive little information about what the system was doing, leaving them unsure whether it was working, had failed, or required their attention.
Retrieving a lift was a good example. The original experience provided little to no feedback after the user initiated the retrieval process. Because the action takes time and involves communication between the app and the physical equipment, users needed more than a simple loading state.
I expanded the interaction to give users more control over the process, along with real-time feedback showing what the system was doing and what would happen next. Users could see what stage the retrieval was in, understand what was happening, and receive clearer feedback as the system progressed toward completion.
This approach was applied across other key interactions as well, giving users more visibility and control instead of leaving them to guess what was happening behind the scenes.
What changed
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Added more options during the retrieval process
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Introduced real-time system feedback
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Made progress and system states visible
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Gave users more control over the interaction
Before
After
Refining the experience beyond functionality
With the major functional issues identified and addressed, I shifted my focus toward bringing the rest of the app into a more user-friendly and efficient UI system.
The initial release had understandably prioritized functionality and proof of concept. With the core experience now working, I could refine the remaining screens and workflows to improve information hierarchy, visual consistency, usability, and the overall effort required to complete common tasks.
Simplifying the experience around the user's workflow
The goal of the redesign wasn't simply to make the interface more visually polished. I wanted to make the information easier to scan, clarify what users could and couldn't interact with, and reduce the amount of visual noise competing for attention.
I focused on simplifying information, improving hierarchy, tightening layouts, and establishing more consistent visual patterns across the app.
What changed
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Simplified information users needed to scan
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Organized content around the user's workflow
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Clearly separated editable and non-editable information
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Standardized component styling and interaction patterns
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Reduced unnecessary visual noise
Before
After
Simplifying information and improving screen hierarchy
Some screens required users to scroll through information that wasn't necessary for the task they were completing.
I removed non-actionable information from edit states, tightened spacing, reorganized related content, and looked for more efficient ways to present information without sacrificing clarity.
The result was a more focused interface that asked users to process less information before reaching the action they needed.
What changed
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Removed non-actionable information from edit states
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Reduced unnecessary scrolling
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Reorganized related content
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Tightened spacing and layouts
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Prioritized information based on the user's task
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Made key actions easier to find
Before
After
Designing feedback for a physical environment
LiftLabs isn't used in a traditional desk or office environment. Fishers may be moving around a boat, managing equipment, wearing gloves, and paying attention to the water at the same time. That meant the interface needed to communicate important information without requiring constant attention.
I focused on making key interactions more visible and predictable, particularly when users were waiting for the app or equipment to respond. I introduced clearer visual feedback to show what was happening, what stage an action was in, and when the user needed to take action.
The result was an interface that could communicate progress and system status more effectively in the environment where LiftLabs would actually be used.
What changed
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Made system states more visible
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Added clearer progress and status feedback
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Improved feedback for key actions
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Reduced the need to constantly monitor the screen
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Designed interactions around limited attention and movement on the water
Before
After
Fixing friction before users even reach the product
The authentication experience had been created before I joined the project and no longer matched the direction of the rest of the app. Beyond the visual inconsistency, several common account-management patterns were missing or difficult to use.
I redesigned the sign-up and login experience to create a more cohesive entry point while addressing practical usability issues. I also brought the interaction patterns in line with the rest of the product so users could move through authentication with less friction.
The result was a more consistent and predictable experience from the first interaction, before users even reached the core product.
What changed
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Added password visibility controls
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Added a Forgot Password flow
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Introduced alternative sign-in options
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Resolved keyboard-related navigation issues
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Added loading and transition states
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Brought authentication into the same visual system as the rest of the app
Before
After
Authentication is often the first interaction users have with a product, so consistency and clarity matter before users even reach the core experience. Bringing these patterns into the same system helped create a more cohesive entry point into the app.
From collecting data to making better decisions
As LiftLabs collects information from deployed lifts—including depth, water temperature, currents, location, and historical activity—the product has an opportunity to provide value beyond simply monitoring equipment.
I began exploring how that information could eventually be combined with environmental and historical data to help fishers make more informed decisions about where and when to fish.
These concepts were exploratory rather than production-ready features. The goal was to understand where data-driven recommendations could genuinely improve the fishing experience before committing to a larger AI investment.
Should I retrieve this?
Combine lift data with weather, environmental conditions, and historical patterns to help determine whether a lift is worth retrieving.
Where should I fish?
Combine historical lift data with water conditions, depth, temperature, and weather to surface potentially productive fishing locations.
Bringing the experience together
The V2 prototype brought the improvements from this phase into a more cohesive product direction.
Rather than simply applying a new visual style, the concept incorporated lessons from the existing experience: clearer hierarchy, simplified workflows, stronger feedback, more consistent interaction patterns, and a foundation for future data-driven features.
What I learned
LiftLabs reinforced how different a mobile experience becomes when the user's physical environment is part of the interface.
The boat, movement, weather, gloves, connectivity, and limited attention all influence how the product needs to communicate. That made reliability and interaction feedback just as important as the visual design itself.
The biggest lesson was that improving the experience wasn't about adding more functionality. It was about making the existing functionality clearer, more predictable, and easier to use under real-world conditions.
The next step would be validating these decisions directly on the water and using that feedback to determine which parts of the V2 direction should move into development.
Next steps
Usability and on-water app testing
With the basic app developed, and positive feedback from several lobster fishers for the overall design, a major next step is to put it in the hands of lobster fishers for usability and on-water testing to gather direct feedback on layout, functionality, design, and more. This will help inform the next set up next steps as the app continues to grow and evolve.
Validate predictive features
Determine whether fishers actually want recommendations, which signals they trust, and how much control they want over decisions before investing further in AI-driven functionality.
App onboarding
While the app was designed to be fairly simple and may not need an extensive walkthrough, it's still important to provide basic onboarding or possibly short demo for those who may have less experience with technology, or prefer a quicker understanding of the app as they use it for the first time
