Refract Group2026
Product design
Products people can work out on their own.
UX and UI design for software with a lot going on. We help product teams make setup, everyday tasks and difficult decisions easier to follow.
Make the next step clear
Refract works with product and engineering teams on SaaS platforms, operational software and new product ideas. Start with a specific task: setting up an account, handling an exception or making a decision from dense data. We trace that task through the product before proposing a new screen.
- UX auditReview the journey, support themes and available usage evidence. Separate observed problems from questions that need research.
- Flows and prototypesMap decisions, permissions and recovery paths. Test a proposed interaction before committing to the full build.
- UI and design systemsDesign screens, states and reusable patterns around your product’s content and technical constraints.
- Implementation reviewWork with engineers and review the built experience, including loading, empty and error states.
The system behind the screens
At Keeyu, the work centred on the relationships between setup, operations and the customer’s next action. Reusable patterns helped connect those journeys. A useful design system carries those decisions forward, alongside the typography, colour and components.
- Start from the productInventory the patterns people already use and identify where they behave differently.
- Explain the decisionsDocument when a pattern applies, what content it needs and how it responds to errors.
- Keep design and build connectedAgree component behaviour with the people implementing and maintaining it.
From a difficult task to a working direction
- UnderstandAgree the user, task and success criteria. Review the live product and the evidence available.
- ExploreMap the flow and prototype the decisions that carry the most uncertainty.
- ReviewTest with representative users where the scope allows, and review feasibility with engineering.
- RefineResolve the states and details, document the pattern and review it in implementation.
Ways to start
Bring a product link, one difficult journey and the decision your team needs to make.
A UX audit
A focused review with prioritised findings, evidence and the next changes to investigate.
A product sprint
A defined problem, a prototype and a plan for what to test or build next.
An embedded design team
Design support alongside your product and engineering team as the work develops.
Questions before we start
Ask usYes. We can begin with a particular journey or an audit of the existing experience. A redesign is only one possible outcome; the useful answer may be a smaller change to structure, wording or behaviour.
The agreed flows, interface designs, relevant states and reusable component guidance. We agree the prototype format, documentation and implementation-review scope with your team before starting.
Design and engineering are separate scopes that can be delivered together. We can work with your engineers or agree a build scope with Refract’s engineering team.
We scope the work around the journeys, research access, technical constraints and deliverables. Bring the product, the problem and your budget range so we can recommend a focused engagement.
Agree a measure linked to the task, such as successful setup, recovery from an error or support demand. Where there is no baseline, identifying the instrumentation belongs in the work; a polished prototype alone is not evidence of improvement.
