The Cinematic Aura of Brent

Founding Product Designer

Armada

Edge Computing

For Brent Faiyaz, we developed a striking visual identity that blends rich, atmospheric tones with his signature aura of mystery. Through hazy lighting, deep contrasts, and intimate compositions, we captured the essence of his music—soulful, raw, and effortlessly cool. This campaign not only enhances his artistic brand but also deepens his audience’s connection, turning every frame into a moment of storytelling.

THE OUTCOME

More apps explored per visit

<2 min

To find a relevant app

+50%

Paid app downloads

"I'd spend half an hour vetting an app before I even knew whether it would install cleanly."

— Asset Manager

THE INSIGHT

More apps wasn't more value, it was the problem.

The marketplace treated volume as the selling point: hundreds of third-party tools, ever-growing. But to an operator, that pile was the friction.

So the job wasn't to help people dig faster, it was to give them a smaller, curated pile in the first place. Value came from what we left out.

Interviews and a fleet-wide survey surfaced the predictable asks: visibility, faster troubleshooting, unified alerts. The insight underneath them was the one that mattered: every number shown without a recommended action added load, not removed it.

That turned Commander from a dashboard into a decision surface and set the direction for everything after.

The marketplace treated volume as the selling point: hundreds of third-party tools, ever-growing. But to an operator, that pile was the friction.

So the job wasn't to help people dig faster, it was to give them a smaller, curated pile in the first place. Value came from what we left out.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWED

50%

couldn't find relevant tools

struggled to identify what fit their workflow

45 min+

to evaluate & deploy one app

per third-party tool, start to finish

from first alert

to fix

per third-party tool, start to finish

100+

apps cluttering the store

low usage or unclear utility

THE DECISION

Curate first, search second.

The first fix was better search and filtering, help operators sift the 100+ apps faster. I explored it, but it only optimized the symptom; a faster path through low-value tools still ended in low-value tools.

The decision was then to lead with curation, a hand-picked catalog of high-impact tools, then layered smart search on top and collapsed install into one-click deployment. The trade: less breadth, far less time-to-value.

BUILD AND SHIP

Building it.

I built the Marketplace inside Commander's design system, and worked directly with engineering to ship one-click deployment, collapsing a multi-step install and its compatibility headaches into a single action. Design and eng moved together, so the experience shipped the way it was planned.

Curated catalog · high-impact tools only

One-click deploy · built with eng

THE STOREFRONT

Every app, one standard.

Third-party apps arrived with inconsistent names, screenshots and claims, so even good ones looked like risks.

I designed one listing standard that answers what operators ask before installing (does it run, what does it need, who’s used it) and added a Verified badge, so the store read as one brand, not a hundred.

SELECTED SCREENS

Fewer, better, by default.

A hand-picked catalog of high-impact tools replaces the endless third-party pile, the curation is the feature.

Fewer, better, by default.

A hand-picked catalog of high-impact tools replaces the endless third-party pile, the curation is the feature.

Search that anticipates.

Relevant suggestions and filters surface the right tool instead of more scrolling.

Search that anticipates.

Relevant suggestions and filters surface the right tool instead of more scrolling.

From found to deployed in one click.

The multi-step install and its compatibility headaches, collapses into a single action.

From found to deployed in one click.

The multi-step install and its compatibility headaches, collapses into a single action.