Marley AI
I’m excited to share an impactful and enjoyable project I recently worked on for Costello Medical. The objective was to refresh the visual identity of an internal AI chatbot named Marley. The goal? To increase workflow efficiency by implementing new features and enhancing the user experience.
Year
2025
Role
UX/UI Designer
WHAT IS MARLEY?
Marley is an AI tool developed in-house using the latest model from OpenAI. Launched in 2023, it's a secure, personalised AI tool designed to handle more confidential information.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
While the app delivered basic functionality, its interface felt out of step with the rest of our internal product ecosystem – visually inconsistent, basic, and dated. It also lacked thoughtful, user-centric organisational and tailored features.
The design needed bringing in line with our brand, and needed to evolve alongside the fast-moving AI industry.
1 | RESEARCH
An in-depth research phase at the start of the project uncovered users' pain points and expectations, while also benchmarking the app against other AI tools to better understand market standards and opportunities.
MARKET RESEARCH
Competitor analysis and audit
There are many AI chatbots now readily available online, so I deep dived into the most widely-used ones: ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Alongside this, I conducted a comprehensive product audit of the existing platform to identify poor UX and opportunities.
USER RESEARCH
Usability testing
We conducted tests with 3 employees to understand what they need and expect from the app. Over individual video calls, we asked them to carry out 4 tasks and to speak their thoughts as they did. This uncovered opportunities and preferences amongst the users, to find out which of the features users at the company actually needed.
Survey
I formulated questions and sent out a company-wide online survey that was answered by 135 employees, giving extensive results. The main goals of the survey were to find out:
To what extent is the app currently being used?
What existing aspects are liked and disliked?
What features would users like to see?
"I often use ChatGPT over Marley purely because I prefer the design/interface"
“If there was a way to group searches by topic/have a folder system, that would help to find previous searches”
Problem
Research discovered that many users were in fact using other, non-secure AI tools. I translated these findings into a business risk due to data security, validating the need to enhance and build trust in Marley to ensure wider adoption and the safeguarding of client information.
2 | ANALYSE
Affinity mapping
I ran a group session to synthesis the feedback, where we defined common themes as an affinity map.
I evaluated the results and suggested solutions to each theme, enabling me to write up a specification containing features and requirements for the new design.
3 | DESIGN
Interface Design
Based on the specification, I reworked the visual style by creating mockups and experimenting with different ways to make the new features easy to use. The main focus was a logical and intuitive design that encourages productivity and a streamlined workflow.
FINAL EXPERIENCE
Animations and interactions
During this project, I learned more about how animations and micro-interactions can elevate the design and create a more engaging and enjoyable user experience. I created animations in After Effects and guided the use of CSS animations.
Organisation
Chats can be grouped into folders and the most important ones can be pinned to the top, making them quick and easy to find when needed.
Customisation
Users can choose from a variety of response styles and lengths.
Manage conversations
Manage folders directly from the dedicated page. Each folder can have its own set of instructions and relevant files attached, enabling a more personalised and tailored experience.
