01
CONTEXT
Revisiting a product to make it work better
Dangdi is a mobile app designed to help Chinese people living in or travelling through Europe discover local places, experiences and community.
I first worked on Dangdi from concept to launch, contributing to its product design, UX/UI and brand identity. In 2026, I returned to conduct a UX audit ahead of its relaunch, reviewing the product experience to identify usability issues, structural gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Role
UX/UI Designer
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
2021-UX Audit in 2026
2021-UX Audit in 2026
Focus
UX/UI · UX Audit · Visual Identity
UX/UI · UX Audit · Visual Identity
App screens designed in 2020
02
Challenge
A product with potential, but unclear foundations.
Dangdi brings together several needs in one place: local recommendations, events, community, news and social interaction. The challenge was to create an experience that felt useful and engaging for Chinese travellers and residents in Europe.
When I returned in 2026, the product had evolved, but its navigation, interaction patterns and visual language lacked consistency. The audit focused on understanding how these issues affected the overall experience and identifying what needed to improve before the relaunch.
Accessibility review (2026)
03
Approach
Reviewing how the product had evolved
I designed Dangdi’s initial mobile experience in 2020 as a freelance UX/UI Designer. In 2026, the founder contacted me again to review how the product had evolved and identify opportunities for improvement ahead of its relaunch.
The audit focused on three areas:
I designed Dangdi’s initial mobile experience in 2020 as a freelance UX/UI Designer. In 2026, the founder contacted me again to review how the product had evolved and identify opportunities for improvement ahead of its relaunch.
The audit focused on three areas:
- Usability: Identifying friction in key user flows and interactions.
- Product structure: Reviewing navigation and how well it supported user goals.
- Design consistency: Assessing visual patterns, components and interaction states.
I documented the findings, used heuristic evaluation to identify usability issues and prioritised recommendations, from quick fixes to more fundamental improvements.
04
From product design to UX audit
01 — Building the initial experience
I designed Dangdi’s mobile experience from concept to launch, working across UX, UI and brand identity. The goal was to help Chinese travellers discover and access local experiences, products and services in Europe, both before and during their trips.
I explored the app’s information structure, onboarding and home screen, iterating on layouts and navigation as the experience took shape. I developed wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes, refining content hierarchy, readability and interaction patterns to make the experience easier to use.
The visual direction brought together Scandinavian simplicity and Chinese cultural influences, creating a distinct identity for the product.
02 — Reviewing the product foundations
When I returned in 2026, I reviewed the evolved app to understand where the experience was falling short and why. Rather than focusing on isolated screens, I looked for recurring problems across navigation, usability, accessibility and visual consistency.
I reviewed the main flows, annotated issues in Figma and used a heuristic checklist to structure the evaluation. I then grouped the findings by severity and prioritised improvements, separating immediate usability fixes from changes that required a more consistent product foundation.
UX Audit Prioritisation Matrix (2026)
05
Key findings
01 — Navigation built around features, not user goals
The navigation reflected the app’s different features, but did not always help users understand where to go or what to do next. Journeys felt fragmented, adding cognitive effort to everyday tasks.
02 — Too much competing for attention
News, community, events, recommendations and social interaction were presented as competing reasons to use the app. This made it harder to understand its primary value and answer a simple question:
Why should I open Dangdi today?
03 — Accessibility and readability gaps
Contrast and legibility varied across the app. Combinations such as red text on a black background, along with inconsistent text readability, could make content harder to scan and use.
04 — No shared visual system
Inconsistent icons, colours, illustrations and interaction feedback weakened the overall experience. Without shared patterns or a lightweight style guide, individual screens could evolve in different directions, making the product harder to maintain and scale.
Navigation bar — Proposed direction (2026)
Onboarding — Proposed direction (2026)
Style guide — Proposed direction (2026)
06
Outcome
A clearer path towards the relaunch
The UX audit identified systemic issues across navigation, interaction patterns, accessibility and visual consistency. It also established a prioritised set of recommendations, from quick usability improvements to the foundations needed for a more coherent and scalable product.
The work provided a clearer direction for the relaunch, highlighting where changes could improve discoverability, support engagement and strengthen trust in the experience.
Deliverables
1. UX audit and heuristic evaluation
2. Review and annotations of key user flows in Figma
3. Prioritised findings and recommendations
4. Lightweight style guide recommendations
5. Explorations for the visual identity, splash screen, App Store and EVA AI
Quick Wins · 0–2 Weeks
Strategic Improvements · 1–3 Months
Making a product more coherent, usable and ready to grow