Northbound Studio OS

An internal operating dashboard for a distributed studio, designed for people who live in it eight hours a day.

Year: 2025
Location: Remote (Johannesburg & Berlin)
Duration: 14 weeks

Client: Northbound
Role: Product design, Design system, Front-end build
Discipline: UI/UX
Delivered: 2025 · 14 weeks

The problem

What we were actually solving

Northbound ran on four disconnected tools and a spreadsheet nobody trusted. Project status lived in one place, time in another, invoicing somewhere else entirely, and the studio lead was spending most of Monday reconciling all three.

The approach

Laptop showing a dark minimal website beside a vase and books

How the work was made

Rather than designing screens, we started by writing down every question the team asked in a week. Twenty-three questions. The entire interface is organised so each one is answerable in under two clicks.

The visual language is intentionally low-contrast and dark by default. This is a tool people stare at all day, and there is no reason for it to shout. Colour is reserved exclusively for state: overdue, at risk, awaiting client.

A twelve-component design system was built alongside the product and handed over documented, so their in-house developer could extend it without needing me for every new view.

The outcome

Monday reconciliation went from roughly four hours to under twenty minutes. The system has since been extended twice by their own team without design input.

Team questions the interface answers in two clicks: 23Team questions the interface answers in two clicks
Weekly reconciliation time: 4hrs → 20minWeekly reconciliation time
Components in the handed-over design system: 12Components in the handed-over design system
Lighthouse performance score at launch: 98Lighthouse performance score at launch