Aug. 2025 - Sep. 2025
Product Management, Project Management, UX Design
The first version was launched on Sep. 2025 and will continue to make improvements to enhance the user experience
Aug. 2025 - Sep. 2025
Product Management, Project Management, UX Design
The first version was launched on Sep. 2025 and will continue to make improvements to enhance the user experience
Aug. 2025 - Sep. 2025
UX Product Manager
The first version was launched on Sep. 2025 and will continue to make improvements to enhance the user experience
Subtitles are a core feature for video editors. This project focused on improving the overall efficiency and flexibility of the Subtitle Room through UX structure refinement and UI optimization. Building on existing functionality, the redesign reorganized workflows and interface structure to enhance efficiency, usability, and visual consistency in subtitle editing.
The toolbar now focuses on core global actions, while secondary controls are placed in the side panel for clearer navigation. Merge and Split were combined into a single function to minimize visual clutter.
In the previous version, subtitles could only be added at the playhead position. In the new design, subtitles can be added either at the playhead or after a selected subtitle, giving users more flexibility when adding subtitles.
Dividing the subtitle management into two distinct pages: a Subtitle List page for overview and selection, and a Properties page for detailed editing and settings, enhancing organization and usability.
In the previous design, after entering a search bar, there was no clear visual cue indicating that users needed to click Find & Replace icon button to trigger. Additionally, expanding the replace field caused unnecessary visual disruption in the interface. To improve clarity and usability, Search and Find & Replace were separated into two distinct functions, making the interaction more predictable and easier to understand.
This project highlighted the challenges of balancing user experience, technical constraints, and real-world trade-offs in a mature product. Through the Subtitle Room revamp, I gained several key learnings:
1. Designing within long-term technical constraints:
Many UX improvements were possible in theory, but the product’s long-standing technical debt limited how much could be changed at a foundational level. Instead of pushing ideal but unrealistic solutions, I worked closely with R&D to evaluate feasibility and focus on changes that delivered meaningful UX impact within practical constraints.
2. When data doesn’t tell the full story:
The data clearly showed that most users relied on AI Speech-to-Text, so we assumed manual subtitle edits at the playhead would be rare. Based on that assumption, we removed the control in the first release. After launch, however, we received unexpected complaints, which highlighted that data can guide decisions, but still needs validation to capture important edge cases.
3. Iteration leads to better design decisions
There was no clear answer at the beginning. We explored several layouts, including tabs and edit-triggered panels, but they made important settings less visible. After multiple iterations and discussions with the team, we moved core subtitle list and properties controls to the left navigation. While this required a new layout in the App, it resulted in a more intuitive and discoverable experience.