chinenyé ©26
Caela Space
Strategy, visual direction and content in a founders workspace .
Strategy, visual direction and content in a founders workspace.
Video Walkthrough
Founders place positioning in a doc. Visual direction on a board. Content in a spreadsheet. Caela puts them on one spine.
Three tools are strong on visual direction. All three score zero on content. Not one row crosses that boundary.
The gap was structural, this is where I checked whether founders actually felt it, and turned four complaints into four things the product had to do.
The founder wants to see the shape before committing. The investor wants a through line, not a folder. Same requirement, opposite ends.
Rating scales can't reach a mental model and interviews can't reach attention, so the aims were stacked rather than picked.
Weighted toward active projects, not designers in general , so the problem was measured in the moment Caela is designed for.
They didn't want a better pairing, they wanted the thread , which is why the spaces run in sequence rather than side by side.
Three themes cleared the threshold , fragmentation, loss of intent, the blank page , and none of them entered the build without a count behind it.
All six on Notion: 5/6 never reopen positioning, 6/6 hoard an unresolved moodboard, 4/6 rebuild the deck by hand.
All three sources pointed at discontinuity, so the roadmap bought connection instead of more features.
Every requirement carries its evidence , blank page, lost strategy, manual rebuild, invisible progress , so nothing reached the build on instinct.
Consolidating 18 surveys and 6 interviews into one founder made the pattern visible.
The curve peaks where Vision assets auto fill the deck. In testing, 3 of 5 didn't notice it happening.
Every frame carries its decision in the margin: singlefield login for friction, universal grid for re-use, timeline layout for order.
Three tasks, five founders, scored on SUS and ease , small enough for a prototype, big enough to find the breaks.
Grade A on usability, 100% completion, and a precise redesign target handed over by the numbers.
The assets sat in the right panel while attention stayed on the canvas, so the fix is placement, and the target is 5/5.
Success held flat while effort climbed , the clearest possible signal of where to spend the next iteration.
Video Walkthrough
©26
(©23)
We delivered custom Webflow and Framer projects while strengthening long term partnerships with ambitious brands.
(©23)
We delivered custom Webflow and Framer projects while strengthening long term partnerships with ambitious brands.
Video Walthrough
(©24)
Founders place positioning in a doc. Visual direction on a board. Content in a spreadsheet. Caela puts them on one spine.
(©25)
Three tools are strong on visual direction. All three score zero on content. Not one row crosses that boundary.
(©23)
The gap was structural, this is where I checked whether founders actually felt it, and turned four complaints into four things the product had to do.
(©24)
The founder wants to see the shape before committing. The investor wants a through line, not a folder. Same requirement, opposite ends.
(©25)
Rating scales can't reach a mental model and interviews can't reach attention, so the aims were stacked rather than picked.
(©26)
Weighted toward active projects, not designers in general , so the problem was measured in the moment Caela is designed for.
(©23)
They didn't want a better pairing, they wanted the thread , which is why the spaces run in sequence rather than side by side.
(©24)
Three themes cleared the threshold , fragmentation, loss of intent, the blank page , and none of them entered the build without a count behind it.
(©25)
All six on Notion: 5/6 never reopen positioning, 6/6 hoard an unresolved moodboard, 4/6 rebuild the deck by hand.
(©26)
All three sources pointed at discontinuity, so the roadmap bought connection instead of more features.
(©23)
Every requirement carries its evidence , blank page, lost strategy, manual rebuild, invisible progress , so nothing reached the build on instinct.
(©24)
Consolidating 18 surveys and 6 interviews into one founder made the pattern visible.
(©25)
The curve peaks where Vision assets auto fill the deck. In testing, 3 of 5 didn't notice it happening.
(©26)
Every frame carries its decision in the margin: singlefield login for friction, universal grid for reuse, timeline layout for order.
(©23)
We refined Mōno™ Studio’s visual identity and positioned the brand around clarity, minimalism, and precision. Our focus shifted toward high end digital experiences, blending strategy, design systems, and performance. We delivered custom Webflow and Framer projects while strengthening long term partnerships with ambitious brands.
(©24)
Before any code, I had to answer one stubborn question by hand: how do you show wind without drawing a chart?
(©24)
Before any code, I had to answer one stubborn question by hand: how do you show wind without drawing a chart?
(©24)
Before any code, I had to answer one stubborn question by hand: how do you show wind without drawing a chart?
(©24)
Before any code, I had to answer one stubborn question by hand: how do you show wind without drawing a chart?
(©24)
Before any code, I had to answer one stubborn question by hand: how do you show wind without drawing a chart?
(©25)
One layer visible at a time , because showing everything is the same as showing nothing.
(©26)
Transparent buttons/cards weren’t a style choice , they were a refusal to overwhelm.
(©23)
Three tasks, five founders, scored on SUS and ease , small enough for a prototype, big enough to find the breaks.
(©24)
Grade A on usability, 100% completion, and a precise redesign target handed over by the numbers.
(©25)
The assets sat in the right panel while attention stayed on the canvas, so the fix is placement, and the target is 5/5.
(©26)
Success held flat while effort climbed , the clearest possible signal of where to spend the next iteration.
(©23)
84.5% fixation says people were reading, not scanning randomly.
(©24)
Attention pools in the centre-left , everything at the edges goes unseen.
(©25)
Early on, the gaze moved with confidence. By the end, it was searching for answers the interface never gave.
(©26)
The airflow task is where the times scattered widest , that’s exactly where the design still needs to grow up.
(©23)
One participant found their bearings in 394 milliseconds. That number is the benchmark now.
(©24)
“This looks interactive but also informational” , four ways the interface confused people.
(©25)
Everyone got there in the end. Not everyone got there without doubt.
(©26)
What they wanted most wasn’t more features , it was to be told the truth and given control.
(©23)
Three separate lenses, and they all landed on the same weak floorboard: navigation.
(©24)
We expanded our client portfolio internationally and introduced structured service packages to streamline collaboration. Mōno™ Studio completed multiple premium website launches with advanced interactions and performance optimization at the core. We invested heavily in workflow systems, improving delivery speed without compromising quality.
(©25)
Video Walkthrough
©26
Terranova treats environmental data as something to stand inside, not read about , airflow, light, and acoustics embedded directly into the model, not translated from flat outputs. Its real innovation isn’t the VR, it’s the restraint: one layer at a time, confidence built into every cue, calm design that never competes with the space itself.
Year
2026
Figma,
Claude Design
Claude
Cursor
2026
Figma,
Miro
Claude
Tobii
Introduction
Caela Space is a sequenced workspace for early stage founders that carries one idea from strategic definition through visual direction to published content, replacing four disconnected tools with a single chain that runs both ways.
Caela Space is a sequenced workspace for early stage founders that carries one idea from strategic definition through visual direction to published content, replacing four disconnected tools with a single chain that runs both ways.
Caela Space is a sequenced workspace for early stage founders that carries one idea from strategic definition through visual direction to published content, replacing four disconnected tools with a single chain that runs both ways.
The Problem
Fragmented workflow: Positioning in a doc, visual direction on a board, content in a spreadsheet. The founder is the only integration layer.
Idea decay: Strategy gets written once and never reopened. The intent and the output drift apart.
The blank page: Every project opens as an empty canvas with no order to it, and the first session stalls before a single decision.
The Problem
Fragmented workflow: Positioning in a doc, visual direction on a board, content in a spreadsheet. The founder is the only integration layer.
Idea decay: Strategy gets written once and never reopened. The intent and the output drift apart.
The blank page: Every project opens as an empty canvas with no order to it, and the first session stalls before a single decision.
Outcome
chinenyé
©2026
Participants
Six of six interviewees said a tool carrying one idea through every stage would change how they work, provided it added no setup of its own.
Participants
Six of six interviewees said a tool carrying one idea through every stage would change how they work, provided it added no setup of its own.
Participants
Six of six interviewees said a tool carrying one idea through every stage would change how they work, provided it added no setup of its own.
Usability Score
Task success: 5/5 participants completed all three prototype tasks, scoring 81.2/100 on the System Usability Scale , above the 68 baseline and past the 80 mark.
Usability Score
Task success: 5/5 participants completed all three prototype tasks, scoring 81.2/100 on the System Usability Scale , above the 68 baseline and past the 80 mark.
Usability Score
Task success: 5/5 participants completed all three prototype tasks, scoring 81.2/100 on the System Usability Scale , above the 68 baseline and past the 80 mark.
Mean Task Time
Across all three tasks and five participants. Idea to showable slide on a first encounter, with no walkthrough. Times held steady across the group, which points to an interface that is learnable rather than guessable.
Mean Task Time
Across all three tasks and five participants. Idea to showable slide on a first encounter, with no walkthrough. Times held steady across the group, which points to an interface that is learnable rather than guessable.
Mean Task Time
Across all three tasks and five participants. Idea to showable slide on a first encounter, with no walkthrough. Times held steady across the group, which points to an interface that is learnable rather than guessable.
Built Solo, research, IA, prototype, and usability testing.
Evidence
83%wantedonesequencedworkspace
83%wantedonesequencedworkspace
78%losetheirstrategyoncetheystartmakingcontent
78%losetheirstrategyoncetheystartmakingcontent
0of18ratedtheircurrentworkflow"veryeasy"tokeepcoherent
0of18ratedtheircurrentworkflow"veryeasy"tokeepcoherent
Reflection
chinenyé
©2026
As a Product designer who believes an idea should stay whole, not scattered.
The hard part wasn't the interface , it was resisting the urge to design before I'd earned the right to. Every screen I sketched before the research settled got thrown away.
Three connected spaces taught me to think in dependencies rather than pages: no board could change without rippling into two others. That's changed how much structure I put in before any style.
Testing was the sharpest lesson. The prototype scored well and still missed the point I'd built it around. A coherent system isn't automatically a legible one , two different jobs, and I design for the second one deliberately now.
Reflection
chinenyé
©2026
As a Product designer who believes an idea should stay whole, not scattered.
The hard part wasn't the interface , it was resisting the urge to design before I'd earned the right to. Every screen I sketched before the research settled got thrown away.
Three connected spaces taught me to think in dependencies rather than pages: no board could change without rippling into two others. That's changed how much structure I put in before any style.
Testing was the sharpest lesson. The prototype scored well and still missed the point I'd built it around. A coherent system isn't automatically a legible one , two different jobs, and I design for the second one deliberately now.
Places I've worked
2020
Nerdwallet,
Product Design & User Research Intern
2019
Blueprint,
Product Design
2019
UC Berkeley Mobile App,
App Designer
2019
E*TRADE Financial,
UI/UX Design Intern
2019
Lendlease Group,
Construction Management Intern
Experience & Qualifications
My CV
Experience & Qualifications
My CV
Experience & Qualifications