Gmail Integration
Leading design of a Gmail connector that enabled granting organizations to bring in critical information directly into Fluxx, reducing manual data handling.
⏰ Timeline
4 Weeks
👥 Team
2 Designers
📌 Role
Lead Designer
Overview
Fluxx users relied heavily on Gmail for grant-related communication, yet critical information shared through email remained disconnected from the platform’s records and workflows. This forced users into manual copy-paste behaviors, increased context switching, and created risks around data loss and incomplete documentation.
To address this, I led the design of Fluxx’s Gmail Integration, introducing a custom connector that enabled users to save correspondence, attachments, and key data directly from their inbox into Fluxx. By aligning everyday communication workflows with the platform’s structured data model, the solution reduced friction, improved data continuity, and strengthened Fluxx’s role as a system of record.
understanding grants managers
Fluxx is a Grants Managing software that streamlines granting processes and amplify impact through a centralized and comprehensive grants management system. One of our user groups, Grants Managers are responsible for the daily oversight of granting activities across multiple stages of development, and timezones. Communicationtion with grantees is an essential role in their job, and this primarily occurs outside of their Fluxx site. they needed more robust tools to help them integrate the work being done on the ground into their Fluxx site.
user pain points
Navigating multiple digital tools to compile one source of truth is difficult and time-consuming.
Monitoring multiple grants at different stages across these tools can be fragmented and frustrating.
key findings
simplified feature = essential tasks completed faster
How can we provide our users with a tool that empowers their work and efficiency?
what should we build?
My focus was on identifying key records and data for Grants Managers, ensuring the Gmail Add-on effectively connected external communications with their Fluxx site. Combining user feedback with mirroring existing tools built for other user groups we discovered the main areas users needed most.
Saving email records directly to any record type in their site
Creating new “People” records from email senders or those CC’d
Productivity tools like adding notes or creating a task to a specific record and email.
building workflows to plan interactions
Prototype
My initial design approach was simple and functional, but it didn’t capture Fluxx’s visual identity and lacked cohesive structure.
During testing, users described the prototype as clunky and hard to navigate.
I knew the next step was to rethink the experience with more intuitive navigation and a stronger visual hierarchy to guide users more effectively.
How should we build it?
With that initial customer feedback, I moved into designing high-fidelity screens using our existing design system. Starting from the user flows, I began fleshing out the full functionality of the feature, anchoring the work around a clear visual hierarchy.
Key context, like the recipient’s name and organization, was placed prominently at the top, while the core action. Saving the email was made visually distinct and easy to access.
I iterated quickly based on ongoing feedback. The final version captured the first viable phase of the product, with a strong foundation for additional features to be added in future phases.
finalized screens of the interface
Project Pivot
The initial plan to integrate Gmail into Fluxx was put on hold as the team shifted focus.
After evaluating user needs, time, and effort for the development of custom integration we decided to pursue automation and APIs instead, providing a more scalable and efficient solution to enhance workflow automation.
I collaborated with Engineering and Product leadership to develop automation workflows, leveraging insights from our research and project work.