WIKIFACTORY
UX DESIGN & GROWTH
Shaping an open-source community into a powerhouse for product innovation.
My contributions:
UX Research
Service Design
Interface Design
Design System
Growth
Industry
Tech and Mechanical Engineering
Date
2023 - 2024
Target Market
Mechanical Engineers and Industrial Designers
Growth Stage
Ideation to Scaling
From open source to pdm
Wikifactory was founded in 2015 by a group passionate about open-source collaboration and the maker movement. The core idea behind Wikifactory was to democratize product development by providing a space where creators could collaborate on hardware projects from ideation to production, regardless of geographical boundaries.
During 2019, Wikifactory had expanded its tools to include a marketplace that connected creators with manufacturers. Today Wikifactory’s mission is to make product development accessible to everyone, breaking down barriers between creators and manufacturers. The platform empowers individuals and companies to develop innovative products and bring them to market more efficiently.
A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
First I contributed to the marketplace by designing user flows that simplified operations for engineers, allowing them to interact more efficiently with the users and the platform. This involved developing a feature that allowed users to upload multiple files simultaneously and bulk edit part details to customize their manufacturing preferences. With this we saved around 70% of the time, as engineers could gather all necessary information in one upload, instead of sifting through multiple uploads from the same user with varied or identical specifications for different parts.
Next we enhanced the platform with measurement tools for 3D models, improving precision and making the product development process smoother for engineers and designers, even when working remotely. This upgrade not only improved functionality but also helped reducing “CADastrophic” barriers.
We designed the company’s desktop app, ensuring a cohesive and modern look & feel across all touchpoints while maintaining and updating the design system. This allowed us to create a unified experience for our users while enabling smooth internal updates.
Finally, we launched with a feedback programme and started another round of user research to gather insights that supported growth, making sure that both users and internal teams had a more intuitive, efficient experience.
Through these efforts, we saw significant improvements in usability and overall growth, transforming Wikifactory into a more dynamic and user-friendly product development platform.