How designing platform navigation is like building a dream home

Revamping GitLab's navigation aimed to enhance user experience by addressing three primary themes: minimizing user overwhelm, orienting users across the platform, and enabling users to easily pick up where they left off. The redesign process involved visualizing multiple concepts to address the increasing complexity and disorientation faced by users due to inconsistent navigation elements like sidebars and breadcrumbs. Through testing various layout ideas, such as the "Super Sidebar" and "Element Reswizzle," GitLab's team found that the "Super Sidebar" was favored for its intuitive navigation and ability to support diverse workflows. The final design incorporated valuable elements from both concepts, emphasizing a cohesive and user-friendly interface while iterating on user feedback. The team focused on foundational aspects before refining details like color, font, and iconography, all to ensure a seamless user experience. As GitLab continues to evolve, the navigation system remains a work in progress, with ongoing feedback and improvements anticipated beyond the 16.0 release.

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