Microchip

Microchip Graphics Composer is a GUI-design tool that lets designers and firmware engineers build sleek, branded interfaces and export them for production-ready code. But the visual design was lagging behind: the UI felt stuck in the past, less usable, and too cluttered for its dual audiences.

When the Fresh Consulting team and I came into the project, the goal was to breathe energy and clarity into the interface, while respecting the complexity behind it. My co-designer and I collaborated on the rebrand and UI/UX refresh to transform Graphics Composer into a tool people actually wanted to use, bringing micro-level polish and macro clarity side by side.

We partnered with Microchip’s stakeholders in workshops to define a fresh visual direction, then dove into user research across personas (UI designers and firmware engineers) to understand both what works and what trips them up. From that, we created wireframes, simplified workflows, reworked the toolbar layouts, refined icon systems, and overhauled typography and visual hierarchy. We also shaped the style guide, set the tone of voice, and aligned the new identity across the UI.

The impact was clear: in preference testing, users chose the new design over the old by 73%, citing it as more trustworthy, usable, and visually appealing. With this overhaul, Microchips Graphics Composer evolved from a tool you HAD to use into one you WANTED to use.