Countless brainstorming and audit work was performed to understand core interactions and flows.
Key Insights
Framework Innovation
The Breakthrough: Intent Based Design
Architecture: Four-Layer System
The Pattern’s Two-Axis System
Pattern Innovation
"The same navigation principles work whether you're in a modal, full page, or panel - they just manifest differently based on context. This consistency helps users build reliable mental models." - Pattern Guidelines
Countless brainstorming and audit work was performed to understand core interactions and flows.
Key Insights
Framework Innovation
The Breakthrough: Intent Based Design
Architecture: Four-Layer System
The Pattern’s Two-Axis System
User Intent (Starting point)
- The specific goal or task a user is trying to accomplish when interacting with an interface - like browsing documents, creating contracts, or understanding workflow status. This serves as the starting point for selecting appropriate interaction patterns.
Content Complexity (Adaptation)
High - Multi-dimensional, system-wide impact
Medium - Moderate relationships, focused scope
Low - Simple, isolated, quick consumption
Based on: Structure × Cognitive Load × Context × Business Impact
Pattern Innovation
"The same navigation principles work whether you're in a modal, full page, or panel - they just manifest differently based on context. This consistency helps users build reliable mental models." - Pattern Guidelines
Problem
As Lexagle scaled from 1 to 15 enterprise clients, we discovered our component library chaos wasn't just about visual inconsistency. The fundamental issue was that our components couldn't adapt to varying user intents and content complexity across different enterprise workflows.
Contract managers needed different interactions than legal administrators. Simple documents required different treatment than complex multi-party agreements. Our rigid component system couldn't flex with human needs.
Countless brainstorming and audit work was performed to understand core interactions and flows.
Key Insights
①
User Intent Drives Everything
Users approached interfaces with specific goals: browsing, creating, analyzing, configuring. These intents required fundamentally different interaction patterns.
②
Content Complexity Varies Dramatically
A simple contract template needed different treatment than a complex multi-party negotiation. Time to consume content became our key metric.
③
Context Changes Everything
The same task (like uploading) needed different approaches in different contexts - full pages vs. modals vs. panels.
Framework Innovation
The Breakthrough: Intent Based Design
Architecture: Four-Layer System
①
Principles
Guiding beliefs that shape decisions: Simplify complexity, Guide focus, Foster trust, Enable confidence & flow, Craft moments of delight
②
Foundations
Basic building blocks: Colors, typography, spacing, elevation, borders, grid systems
③
Components
Self-contained interface elements that follow foundation rules and adapt based on context
③
Patterns
Reusable interactions that combine components based on user intent and content complexity
The Pattern’s Two-Axis System
User Intent (Starting point)
- The specific goal or task a user is trying to accomplish when interacting with an interface - like browsing documents, creating contracts, or understanding workflow status. This serves as the starting point for selecting appropriate interaction patterns.
Content Complexity (Adaptation)
The cognitive effort required to process information, determined by factors like data structure, volume, relationships between elements, and business impact. This guides how patterns should adapt to present information appropriately - from simple single items to complex multi-dimensional datasets.
Pattern Innovation
"The same navigation principles work whether you're in a modal, full page, or panel - they just manifest differently based on context. This consistency helps users build reliable mental models." - Pattern Guidelines
Key Learning
Design systems aren't just about consistency—they're about encoding decision-making. By building intent and complexity into our system's DNA, we created a framework that makes designers faster while producing better outcomes for users with varying needs.
This intent-based approach fundamentally changed how we approach design at Lexagle. Instead of asking "What component should I use?" teams now ask "What is the user trying to accomplish?" This shift in thinking has created more thoughtful, user-centered interfaces that scale naturally with business complexity.
The framework continues to evolve, but the core principle remains: start with human intent, adapt to content complexity, and let patterns guide consistent execution. It's a approach that puts users at the center of every design decision.