Shopify
Led the UX team behind Shopify's most-viewed admin surface, building a learning culture that outlasted any single project.
Achievements
- Guided the UX team behind the Navigational L, the most-viewed and interacted surface in Shopify’s admin
- Redesigned Quick Search’s federated results and app launcher to improve relevance
- Introduced ALTE, a cohort-based learning framework, to grow craft-sharing and mentorship across the team
Managing the Navigational L
The Navigational L is the most-viewed and interacted surface in Shopify’s admin. Three areas within it needed attention at once: Quick Search, the Account Menu, and the underlying information architecture.
Quick Search
A crucial part of navigation. We redesigned the federated results and app launcher experience to improve the relevance of what comes back.
Account Menu
A high-visibility entry point. We revisited it to bundle low and high-interaction items, with power users and merchants running multiple stores in mind.
Information Architecture
Scalability and a cohesive brand story were the challenges. We revisited the underlying mechanics with enterprise users and apps in mind.
A High-Wire Surface
The L is the most-viewed, most-interacted surface in Shopify’s admin: part navigation, part first impression for every merchant. Changes to it move real workflows and draw real scrutiny. The Shopify CEO has final sign-off on any modification.
“Raoul led his team through some big, thorny design challenges […]”
Jeff Kraemer, UX Manager
Doing that work well meant building alignment in both directions: horizontally with peers and the Polaris design system team, vertically with product and design leadership, so decisions held up under that scrutiny instead of stalling in it.
Context, influence, and a strong point of view: the real job behind the pixels.
Holding the Line on Quality
I supervised the launch of the redesigned index tables, the tables behind Products, Orders and other core admin views, and pushed the team to hit a high design standard before it shipped.
Testing surfaced problems late. Rather than launch on schedule, I delayed it, then worked with the relevant teams to set a new date and tighten the process so it wouldn’t happen again.
“Raoul consistently ensures that the team meets Shopify’s high quality standards.”
Gladys NG, Product Designer
The schedule slipped. The standard didn’t.
The redesigned Products index table
Alongside the navigation work, I introduced ALTE, a cohort-based learning framework to grow craft-sharing and mentorship across the team, even remotely.
More on ALTE and Learning Teams →Build for the Long Run
That’s a Shopify value, and it held true off the roadmap too: a small, trusted team, a delayed launch that protected the product instead of the schedule, and a habit of mentorship that outlasted any single project.