UX Design Internship
I interned as a UX Designer at Ansys, Inc. where I worked with the amazing team on Ansys Discovery software to revitalize user experience and designing futuristic user-interfaces.
Internship Duration
3 months, Design Internship
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Skills and Tools
Iconography, User Interface Designs, Micro-Interactions, Animations, Sketching, Prototyping, Usability Testing.
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Pen & Paper
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Deliverables
Report Usability Testing (setting testing foundation)
Welcome Screens (Animated sequences)
6+ Engineering Icons
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Users
Ansys Discovery user - B2C/ B2B
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PROJECT 1 & 2 -USABILITY TESTING / WELCOME SCREENS
Ansys Discovery is the latest new-gen simulation software comprising of futuristic UI, multi-simulation feature and much more.
Usability Testing of the beta version helped in detecting a few of the improvements in the early state of the development process. Further the data led me to design interfaces comprising of key features of the software.
PROBLEM
How might we help customers operate the software on demand?
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During the Usability Testing users frequently made errors while performing certain tasks, such as how to zoom in? how to multi-select sections? etc., making them frequently ask for the information about the documentation containing feature descriptions.
OPPORTUNITY
What if we design interactive screens leveraging quick jump-start on the demo of these key features?
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The new Ansys Discovery is designed with a few new controls combining all the capabilities of their previous software's. Customers who are new to this software are unaware of the features and mouse/ keyboard controls to perform a task. Providing them a quick interactive demo when they open the software would help them learn about these controls confidently.
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Thus, Welcome Screens- to make users feel comfortable and confident with the new tool.
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SOLUTION - WELCOME SCREENS
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"As a user, where do I get to learn these controls so that I can use the functions easily?"
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So where and when the users would see these screens was the question of debate. After much of a brainstorming it was decided that the screens will be displayed when the user opens the software. It serves three purposes-
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Serves as a quick interactive tour of all the critical features
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Make users feel welcomed and confident in using all the features with ease.
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Users can refer to this interactive demo on demand.
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INITIAL ITERATIONS - INTERACTION DESIGN EXPLORATIONS IN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
PROJECT 3
Ansys product's usability is highly increased by carefully crafting the icons.
Deployed 6+ pixel-perfect icons by considering the context and users of Ansys product range- Ansys SpaceClaim, Ansys Aim, and Ansys Discovery.
Deploying icons in a real environment
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After several iterations on paper and high-fidelity variations, the team approved this version of checkmark icon to be used in real-world environment.
It is being used in the current Ansys Discovery software released in July 2020. This is extremely satisfying to see this.
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While iterating, I researched different styles on futuristic design and which elements in the design makes it look futuristic.
Checkmark icon "Active" State
Checkmark icon "Disabled" State
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A few more pixel perfect icons were deployed.
Icons 32 x 32 pixels
Iconography Process.
BEHIND THE SCENE
Sketching.
Areas I worked on for iconography
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SpaceClaim files-
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Importing files from cloud
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Sync with Distributed Cloud System (DCS)
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Open DCS monitor
Looking back and
Connecting the dots.
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I had an incredible experience during my internship at Ansys. I was fortunate to work with a great team and made friendships that will last a lifetime. This role gave me a fresh perspective on professional life, pushing me to grow beyond my comfort zone as a designer. While I had my team’s support, my tasks were structured to challenge me—especially when presenting designs. I explored numerous variations for a single concept, ensuring we had the best possible options for decision-making.
This internship strengthened my skills in visual and interaction design, and I also learned Adobe After Effects and micro-animations to enhance user experiences. Looking back, it was a defining starting point in my journey into the design world.
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Key takeaways
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Explore your creativity through tracing your ideas on paper
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Initiate conversations and don't be afraid to ask questions
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Collaboration is the key to make a powerful project