UX / UI Design
In-App Desktop Onboarding
Designed a native, interactive guided product tour built directly into the legacy Maltego Desktop Client. The walk-through introduces core workflows like node creation, canvas navigation, and running data transforms right inside the live interface.
Project Duration :
2023 - 4-Week Release Cycle
Client :
Maltego
Industry :
Tech, Cybersecurity
Role :
UX/UI Designer
Team size :
Cross-functional (Designer, Product Manager, Desktop Devs)
Tools :
Figma
Problem :
The Maltego Desktop Client is highly technical, leaving new users completely lost upon their first launch. The application lacked any contextual, native guidance, forcing users to rely on external documentation or video tutorials just to figure out how to drop an entity onto the graph.
Because the entire desktop application is built on a rigid legacy Java codebase, creating a modern onboarding experience usually meant triggering massive layout recalculations, risking application performance issues, or demanding extensive developer overhead.
Solution :
Designed a highly optimized, lightweight tool-tip wizard that anchors seamlessly to existing application containers. The solution guides the user through a strict, 10-step core path: creating a new graph space, dragging entities from the palette, execution mechanics, and running initial data transforms.
To keep the system highly efficient, I minimized layout disruption by utilizing a clean, consistent modal system with built-in exit safety checks ("Do you want to close the tour?"). The experience ends by dynamically opening an interactive sample graph, seamlessly bridging the gap between passive clicking and real hands-on analysis.
Open Figma Prototype
Challenge :
The absolute core hurdle was strict technical constraint management. Because the application runs on a heavy desktop architecture, I had very little freedom to introduce complex visual animations, custom web-standard elements, or floating screen overlays without heavily burdening the development team.
The challenge was designing within these strict engine boundaries. I systematically structured the layout tokens, button behaviors, and dynamic step counters to use predictable bounding boxes that the engineering team could implement quickly without refactoring legacy view code.
Summary :
Transformed an intimidating, empty-state landing experience into an approachable, user-guided workflow without taxing the performance of the desktop app. By respecting the strict technical limitations of the development stack, the tour bridges the product’s steep learning curve right out of the box.
New users can now successfully execute their first data lookup in under two minutes, navigating the complex interface smoothly while engineers can deploy the update effortlessly.
More Projects
UX / UI Design
In-App Desktop Onboarding
Designed a native, interactive guided product tour built directly into the legacy Maltego Desktop Client. The walk-through introduces core workflows like node creation, canvas navigation, and running data transforms right inside the live interface.
Project Duration :
2023 - 4-Week Release Cycle
Client :
Maltego
Industry :
Tech, Cybersecurity
Role :
UX/UI Designer
Team size :
Cross-functional (Designer, Product Manager, Desktop Devs)
Tools :
Figma
Problem :
The Maltego Desktop Client is highly technical, leaving new users completely lost upon their first launch. The application lacked any contextual, native guidance, forcing users to rely on external documentation or video tutorials just to figure out how to drop an entity onto the graph.
Because the entire desktop application is built on a rigid legacy Java codebase, creating a modern onboarding experience usually meant triggering massive layout recalculations, risking application performance issues, or demanding extensive developer overhead.
Solution :
Designed a highly optimized, lightweight tool-tip wizard that anchors seamlessly to existing application containers. The solution guides the user through a strict, 10-step core path: creating a new graph space, dragging entities from the palette, execution mechanics, and running initial data transforms.
To keep the system highly efficient, I minimized layout disruption by utilizing a clean, consistent modal system with built-in exit safety checks ("Do you want to close the tour?"). The experience ends by dynamically opening an interactive sample graph, seamlessly bridging the gap between passive clicking and real hands-on analysis.
Open Figma Prototype
Challenge :
The absolute core hurdle was strict technical constraint management. Because the application runs on a heavy desktop architecture, I had very little freedom to introduce complex visual animations, custom web-standard elements, or floating screen overlays without heavily burdening the development team.
The challenge was designing within these strict engine boundaries. I systematically structured the layout tokens, button behaviors, and dynamic step counters to use predictable bounding boxes that the engineering team could implement quickly without refactoring legacy view code.
Summary :
Transformed an intimidating, empty-state landing experience into an approachable, user-guided workflow without taxing the performance of the desktop app. By respecting the strict technical limitations of the development stack, the tour bridges the product’s steep learning curve right out of the box.
New users can now successfully execute their first data lookup in under two minutes, navigating the complex interface smoothly while engineers can deploy the update effortlessly.
More Projects
UX / UI Design
In-App Desktop Onboarding
Designed a native, interactive guided product tour built directly into the legacy Maltego Desktop Client. The walk-through introduces core workflows like node creation, canvas navigation, and running data transforms right inside the live interface.
Project Duration :
2023 - 4-Week Release Cycle
Client :
Maltego
Industry :
Tech, Cybersecurity
Role :
UX/UI Designer
Team size :
Cross-functional (Designer, Product Manager, Desktop Devs)
Tools :
Figma
Problem :
The Maltego Desktop Client is highly technical, leaving new users completely lost upon their first launch. The application lacked any contextual, native guidance, forcing users to rely on external documentation or video tutorials just to figure out how to drop an entity onto the graph.
Because the entire desktop application is built on a rigid legacy Java codebase, creating a modern onboarding experience usually meant triggering massive layout recalculations, risking application performance issues, or demanding extensive developer overhead.
Solution :
Designed a highly optimized, lightweight tool-tip wizard that anchors seamlessly to existing application containers. The solution guides the user through a strict, 10-step core path: creating a new graph space, dragging entities from the palette, execution mechanics, and running initial data transforms.
To keep the system highly efficient, I minimized layout disruption by utilizing a clean, consistent modal system with built-in exit safety checks ("Do you want to close the tour?"). The experience ends by dynamically opening an interactive sample graph, seamlessly bridging the gap between passive clicking and real hands-on analysis.
Open Figma Prototype
Challenge :
The absolute core hurdle was strict technical constraint management. Because the application runs on a heavy desktop architecture, I had very little freedom to introduce complex visual animations, custom web-standard elements, or floating screen overlays without heavily burdening the development team.
The challenge was designing within these strict engine boundaries. I systematically structured the layout tokens, button behaviors, and dynamic step counters to use predictable bounding boxes that the engineering team could implement quickly without refactoring legacy view code.
Summary :
Transformed an intimidating, empty-state landing experience into an approachable, user-guided workflow without taxing the performance of the desktop app. By respecting the strict technical limitations of the development stack, the tour bridges the product’s steep learning curve right out of the box.
New users can now successfully execute their first data lookup in under two minutes, navigating the complex interface smoothly while engineers can deploy the update effortlessly.