B2B Freight Platform
MindLogistics
Making freight booking as intuitive as booking a
flight - through the power of a borrowed metaphor.
70%
Faster Booking
60%
Fewer Support Calls
Zero
Training Needed
[Platform Interface - Ticket Cards with Visual Routes]
Role
Freelance UX/UI Designer
Duration
1 month (2022)
Location
Remote: Kazakhstan -> Israel
Scope
Full platform redesign
The Moment
"This feels like Skyscanner."
- Orly, Founder of MindLogistics, seeing the wireframes for the first time
I hadn't mentioned Skyscanner. Not once. She discovered the metaphor herself -
recognized in my design exactly what I'd been trying to achieve. That's when I knew we
had it right.
The Problem
3
people could use it
MindLogistics had a powerful freight platform - comprehensive data on routes, prices,
carriers, schedules. Everything a logistics coordinator would need.
But only Orly, her developers, and her support team knew how to use it. Every new
customer required hours of training. The support team spent most of their day
answering questions the interface should have answered.
The Reframe
From "better UI" to
borrowed mental models
Orly's request was "we need a better UI." But that's a symptom, not a problem. The real
issue: the platform was built around the database structure, not around how people
think about shipping freight.
The Original Interface
Data Tables with 15+ Columns
Horizontal scrolling. No comparison possible. Users had to memorize which column meant what.
The Redesign
Ticket Cards with Visual Routes
Ship -> Truck -> Rail shown visually. Compare at a glance. Works like booking a flight.
The Method
My ignorance as an asset
I didn't know freight logistics. Didn't know TEU from FCL. Couldn't tell multi-modal from intermodal. Which meant I couldn't rely on "knowledge in the head."
Every time I was confused, I wrote it down. Those moments of confusion became design requirements. If I didn't understand it, neither would a startup founder shipping their first container.
Planned
KLM-GOMS Analysis
->
Reality
Heuristic violations so severe, formal analysis was overkill
Key Decisions
Three trade-offs that shaped everything
Trade-off 01
Tickets vs. Tables
Power users wanted 15 columns.
I gave them 5 fields with details on
click. Less data visible - but finally
comparable.
"Support tickets disappeared"
Trade-off 02
Modal vs. Page
Details in modal overlay instead of
new page. Complex itineraries need scrolling - but context is never lost.
Compare 3-4 routes fast
Trade-off 03
Price Dashboard
"Is $4,200 a good price?" No competitor answered this. I built a trends dashboard. Saved routes got cut.
Became key differentiator
The Experience
How the Polyram lady books now
A real user - described to me through support calls and team accounts. She became
my North Star.
0:00
Search form front and center
Origin, destination, date, container type. No hunting for the right screen.
0:30
Results as ticket cards
Visual routes: 🚢 → 🚛 → 🚂. . Compare at a glance. Sort by cheapest or fastest.
2:00
Price context in one click
Dashboard shows $4,200 is 12% below 6-month average. Good deal. Book with confidence.
6:00
Booking complete
Details and booking form in modal. No page navigation. No phone calls. Done.
Results
The Numbers
70%
Faster Booking
20 min -> 6 min
60%
Fewer Support Calls
Self-serve experience
Zero
Training Required
Familiar patterns
20+
New Clients
Post-redesign
Client Feedback
What Orly said
★★★★★
5.0 / 5.0
"Salamat, I am sincerely grateful to you for such a mindful and caring approach you presented throughout our project! When we thought that something was difficult to do, you proved that through an attentive work style any task can be executed just as easily. I believe I made a new friend in your person. See you on another project!"
Orly
Founder, MindLogistics
Learnings
What I took away
1
Discovery happens both ways
When your user discovers the metaphor without you explaining it, you've done something right.
2
Ignorance can be strategic
Not knowing freight terminology forced me to design for people who also didn't know it.
3
Real users exist in proxy form
I never met the Polyram lady. But she was real - described through support calls and team
stories.
4
Know when not to apply a method
I planned KLM-GOMS analysis. The heuristic violations were so obvious I didn't need it.
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