PRODUCT DESIGN
Treevah — Smarter
File Navigation
Redesigning enterprise file management with hierarchical navigation and AI-assisted organization — so users spend less time hunting for files and more time doing actual work.
Role
Product Designer (Team of 2)
Timeline
3 months
Platform
AI-Powered Saas Web Platform
Team
Contribution
PM
Engineer
IMPACT
Measurable impact across every metric
Post-launch metrics and user feedback confirmed the design addressed the core friction points.
30%
Faster task Completion
3X
Faster file discovery
85%
User satisfaction rate
CONTEXT
What existing tools get wrong
Traditional Tools
Navigate into subfolders one at a time. Switching between two folders means going back up and down again. Context is lost with every click. Work gets constantly interrupted.
Treevah
See the full folder structure at a glance. Navigate across folders without switching tabs. Pin only what you're working on — without disrupting the underlying organization.
Users don't just want to find files — they want to work fluidly across multiple folders at once, without losing their place or their focus. No existing tool was built for that workflow.
CURRENT VERSION
The alpha we started with
The existing version already allowed multiple folders to be displayed side-by-side — a step forward from traditional tools. But it still wasn't matching how users actually work.
THE PROBLEM
The alpha solved one thing, but introduced three more
Testing revealed the alpha still didn't fit how people actually work. Three critical issues emerged.
01
Forced to open folders you don't need
To reach Folder C, users still had to open A → B → C simultaneously. Parent folders occupied screen real estate even when completely irrelevant to the task — adding clutter, not clarity.
02
No sense of where you are
As panels accumulated side-by-side, the layout became visually noisy and hard to read. The folder structure — the whole point — was impossible to understand at a glance.
03
Search breaks down in the real world
Users frequently can't recall exact filenames or where they saved something. Keyword search failed them completely — especially for files that were mislabeled or dumped in the wrong folder.
SOLUTION
Two modes, one focused workspace
Rather than a single rigid layout, Treevah offers two complementary modes — each designed around a specific workflow state.
Hierarchy Mode
A visual tree structure that lets users understand exactly where they are in their file system. Folders can expand and collapse independently — only show what you need, hide the rest. No more guessing which subfolder something lives in.
Workstation Mode
A split-panel workspace: the folder tree lives on the left, the active working area on the right. Users drag to pin only the folders they need — without altering the underlying structure. Full focus, zero reorganization anxiety.
AI-Powered Search & File Summary
Natural language search that understands intent, not just filenames. Users can query files the way they'd describe them to a colleague — and preview file contents without opening anything.
"The resume I edited yesterday" → Finds the file named "untitled" by detecting content type + edit date
"Reports for Acme Corp" → Surfaces files inside Acme folders tagged or matching "report"
"PDFs from last month" → Returns all PDFs modified in the last 30 days
PROGRESS
How We Get There
RESEARCH
15+ interviews, two distinct patterns
In-depth interviews with knowledge workers, developers, and creative professionals revealed two dominant archetypes — each with different mental models around file organization.
The Power Organizer
"I have a system. Don't touch it."
Builds meticulous folder hierarchies, rarely uses search, navigates manually. Needs deep structure with visual clarity — and control over any automated changes. Treevah's hierarchy view and manual override system directly addressed their anxiety about losing control
The Search-First User
"I'll just search for it."
Keeps shallow folder structures, relies on memory of partial names or content keywords. Hits a wall when recall is fuzzy. Treevah's AI-powered natural language search — with content analysis, not just filenames — unlocked a new level of speed for them.
USER JOURNEY
Two paths, one system
We mapped the two core journeys that reflect our personas — navigating directly to a known file, and searching when context is fuzzy.
The Power Organizer vs. Their Files
Builds meticulous folder hierarchies · Rarely uses search · Navigates manually · Deep structured folder organization
The Search-First User vs. Their Files
Keeps shallow folder structures · Relies on memory of partial names or content keywords · Hits a wall when recall is fuzzy
WIREFRAME
To find the best solution for the user flow and address key pain points, we tested several different approaches.
ITERATIONS
What testing changed
Two rounds of usability testing with 8 participants surfaced critical mismatches between our design intent and how users actually interpreted the interface.
Hierarchy Mode
Folder levels looked visually identical regardless of depth. Users lost track of where they were, especially with multiple branches open at once.
Added stronger visual cues between nesting levels — indentation, connecting lines, and contrast shifts — making structure immediately readable.
Workstation Mode
Users thought dragging a folder to the workspace would move it permanently. Isolating a single nested folder required 5+ clicks — defeating the purpose entirely.
Replaced drag-to-move with a single click to "pin" a folder to the working panel. Clearer copy and visual treatment reinforced that the original structure stays intact.
FINAL DESIGN
RETROSPECTIVE
What I Learned
The biggest design challenge wasn't the interface — it was deciding what not to build. Early on, the feature list kept expanding: collaborative folders, version history, permission controls. Each idea was reasonable in isolation, but together they threatened to dilute the core value proposition. Learning to pressure-test every feature against the two personas — does this help the Power Organizer or the Search-First User right now? — became the filter that kept the project focused and shippable.
This project also reinforced that AI features require a different design standard. It's not enough for the search to return the right result; users need to immediately trust that it understood them. That meant investing heavily in how results were surfaced and explained, not just what was returned.
What's Next
Three directions are on the roadmap for future iterations:
Deeper AI capabilities: Expanding beyond search into proactive features like auto-tagging files on upload, suggesting folder destinations based on content, and flagging duplicates or misplaced files before they become a problem.
Enterprise integrations: Connecting Treevah to tools like Google Drive and Notion, so users aren't forced to choose between their existing ecosystem and a better navigation experience.
Enterprise integrations: Connecting Treevah to tools like Google Drive and Notion, so users aren't forced to choose between their existing ecosystem and a better navigation experience.