Cue //Case study //03
The Desktop App
//Role
Lead Designer
//Team
PM · Engineer · Visual Designer · Motion Designer · Marketing
//Platform
Desktop
//Company
44pixels
//01
Expanding Cue to the desktop
A macOS menubar app that lets users record meetings without bots joining the call - designed, built, and shipped in two weeks.
One of the most interesting design challenges working on cue was the desktop recorder - a macOS menubar app that lets users record meetings directly from their computer, without any bots joining the call.
It was built in two weeks.
//02
Two weeks to get every decision right
A new platform meant no existing patterns to lean on. Every decision needed to be right, buildable, and shippable - and we had very limited time to find out if something wasn't.
The main challenge was the short timeline. Two weeks to design, build, and ship Cue on a completely new platform. That constraint shaped everything. There was no time for multiple rounds of exploration - every decision needed to be right, buildable, and shippable, fast.
I worked closely with the engineer, the motion designer, and the visual designer to make sure what I was designing was actually possible to build in that timeline, and that every animation and visual asset was accounted for and aligned with the rest of the team.
//03
Designing for simplicity and the friction that comes before it
A menubar app has to be invisible when you don't need it and instant when you do. Another challenge was everything that had to happen before the first click.
A menubar app lives in a completely different context to a mobile or web app - it's a small, floating widget that needs to be immediately understandable and completely out of the way when not in use. No space for complexity. One click to start recording, one click to stop. That's it.
But getting users to that first click required its own careful thinking. The desktop app needed to be downloaded, installed, and given the right system permissions before it could work - microphone access, screen recording, audio capture. That's a lot of friction for a new user. I designed the entire setup flow as a web-based onboarding experience that walked users through each step clearly, handled the permission states gracefully, and got them to "you're all set" as smoothly as possible.
//04
The result of two weeks of tight collaboration
A recorder that felt effortless to use, and a reminder of what's possible when a team is fully aligned.
The result was a recorder that felt effortless to use - because all the complexity had been handled before you ever opened it. It was a great experience working so closely with the full team across every aspect of the product.
//
it showed me how with good communication and everyone aligned and pulling in the same direction, it's possible to ship something great in a short amount of time without compromising on quality.
