Redesigning Pipedrive
for growth.
I redesigned the product structure, navigation and interactions so a broader sales platform could stay clear, familiar and useful.
Project-period figures from my original portfolio and account.
Where we started.
Pipedrive had spent its first decade building a sales tool for salespeople. But sales had become a team activity. CEOs, managers, representatives and operations needed to work across a connected product—not a growing collection of disconnected features.
The product needed
to grow.
The journey.
The jobs.
A wider sales platform needed familiar tasks to stay easy to find, understand and complete.
Explore the journey and jobsShow less
The journey
An explanatory route through the documented product.
- 01Find the right workspace
- 02Choose the sales task
- 03Reveal relevant context
- 04Complete the work
- 05Continue without losing place
The jobs behind the screens
- 01
Find the right place
Understand where a capability belongs in a broader sales platform.
- 02
Keep the task in view
Use contextual options without giving up the primary working area.
- 03
Grow without relearning
Recognise familiar tasks as the product adds capabilities.
For its first ten years, Pipedrive had a clear mission: by salespeople, for salespeople. Modern sales had become a team activity, and the product needed a connected ecosystem that could support CEOs, managers, representatives and sales operations.
The research team’s existing profiles informed the selection of “Hands-on Harriet”, an archetype spanning several of those needs. This connected the redesign to the way people worked, rather than simply refreshing the interface.
What I changed.
I worked on the product model and navigation: giving the wider offer a clear structure, deciding what should stay visible and what should appear in context, and protecting the main task area. Those design decisions let new features fit into a familiar working experience.
Explore the design decisionsShow less
- 01
Separate primary and contextual navigation
Make the product model clear, with secondary options appearing when they are relevant.
- 02
Keep static controls available
Preserve a dependable frame of reference across different product areas.
- 03
Protect the task area
Give the everyday sales task room to work while the platform grows.
The framework gave the wider product a clear structure. Secondary navigation could stay hidden when it was not needed, while familiar tasks remained in place as features moved into their new homes. A core team developed the design through iterations, prototyping and testing after the Design Lab.
navigation
when needed
The framework,
in use.
How I worked
with the team.
I initiated a three-day Design Lab with designers, engineers and product managers to explore the product together. We reviewed the concepts and selected the strongest elements. A core team then developed, prototyped and tested the design.
Explore the design practiceShow less
- 01
Explore together
Different perspectives. Several possible directions.
- 02
Choose together
Present the concepts. Review the strongest elements.
- 03
Make it coherent
A core team develops, prototypes and tests.
I initiated a three-day Design Lab and brought designers, engineers and product managers together to explore the product. Teams developed concepts, presented their proposals and jointly reviewed the elements they wanted to take forward.
A core team then combined those ideas into a coherent design for prototyping and testing. My contribution connected the product-design decisions with a collaborative process that gave the team a direction to develop.
Where we got to.
The redesign gave Pipedrive a foundation for expanding its product while retaining a familiar working experience. The model, navigation and interaction decisions made that growth easier for customers to understand.
In my account of this period, the transformation was a major contributor to the company doubling in value. Daily sign-ups grew by 3.5%, reaching nearly 4,000, alongside an end-state ARR of $65m.
Explore the original before and afterShow less
The original portfolio reports a 3.5% increase in daily sign-ups, to nearly 4,000, and lists 100,000 companies, $65m ARR and a $1.5bn valuation. These are project-period figures from my original portfolio and account. The before-and-after screens document the original redesign.
The opening image shows Pipedrive’s current interface. The before-and-after screens document my original redesign.