Albato was ready for a new chapter. As the company set its sights on the international market—particularly Brazil—it became clear that their website needed a major overhaul. Their existing platform was outdated, visually inconsistent, and fragmented across multiple CMS solutions, making it difficult to scale and maintain. That’s when they reached out to me to lead a complete redesign.

With just one month to deliver, I took on the challenge of crafting a site that was not only visually refreshed but also structurally optimized for growth.

Balancing speed and strategy

From the start, it was clear that time was a major constraint. With only four weeks to go from concept to final design, I structured the project into weekly milestones. Each phase—research, wireframing, UI concepting, and final design—had to be executed efficiently, with constant alignment across teams.

Rather than conducting extensive user research, we relied on competitive analysis. Looking at industry leaders, I evaluated their visual styles, messaging, and UX patterns. The goal was not to replicate but to differentiate—while still maintaining clarity and approachability.

One key insight shaped the entire design philosophy: Albato is a no-code platform, but its old site made it feel more complex than it really was. To fix this, we needed to communicate simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use in every design decision.

Finding the right direction

I started with three distinct design concepts, each exploring different ways to express Albato’s brand and product value. After internal discussions, we merged the strongest elements into a single, refined direction.

We also introduced a new visual motif—a friendly, abstract “blob” character—that subtly reinforced the idea of guidance and support. While initially just a stylistic experiment, it resonated with the team and became a key part of the brand identity.

As we iterated, we identified the highest-priority pages:

1. The homepage, which needed to make Albato’s value proposition clear in seconds.
2. The app catalog, a crucial hub where users could explore integrations.
3. The product overview, breaking down how the platform worked.

Lower-priority sections, like the blog and knowledge base, were pushed to a second phase to ensure we could hit our deadline without compromising quality.

From concept to execution

To keep the process lean and collaborative, I facilitated design workshops where we reviewed progress in real time. These sessions helped surface misalignments early, preventing costly revisions later.

One of the biggest challenges came towards the end: the blog section turned out to be more complex than anticipated. Initially, it was meant to be a straightforward redesign, but as we dug deeper, we realized it lacked a clear content structure. Rather than rush a subpar solution, I proposed launching an MVP version of the site and iterating on the blog separately. The team agreed, and this decision helped us stay on track.

The launch and beyond

The redesigned Albato site went live on schedule, and shortly after, the company launched on Product Hunt—where it became the #1 Product of the Day.

While we didn’t have direct access to user metrics post-launch, the internal response was overwhelmingly positive. More importantly, the modular design system we built made it easier for Albato’s team to scale the site moving forward.

What I took away