Project Summary
Prototyp is an AI-powered document review companion built for pharmaceutical proofreaders and editors. Developed as an internal pitch at a pharma advertising agency, the project started with working code and no UX foundation. The goal was to take a developer built AI algorithm and turn it into a human centered product experience from the ground up. The pitch received positive feedback and opened the door to a potential investor referral.
Context » Internal pitch — Pharma Advertising Agency
Role » Product Designer(UX/UI)
Methods » User Research, Comparative Analysis, User Flow Mapping, Lo-Fi Prototyping
the Problem
Problem Statement
Proofreaders and editors use project management and document editing tools like Workfront that were designed for general workflows. None of the tools in their existing process were built to handle the specific demands of pharmaceutical claim verification.
The current process required pulling previous brand campaigns individually and manually cross referencing language to determine if new claims would pass regulatory approval. The volume of documents involved made this the most time consuming and error prone part of the entire workflow.
For adoption to work, the AI could not disrupt the existing workflow. Prototyp needed to slot into the process at the exact point where manual searching happened, replacing that step without requiring users to change how they worked around it.
Design Solution
Mapping the user flow with the team revealed the scope of what Prototyp could be. The original vision included document upload, matching, and editing in a single platform. Doing a comparative analysis of Adobe Acrobat, a tool already embedded in the proofreading workflow, and Grammarly, for its approach to organizing document views and surfacing results, provided the UI foundation. Patterns from both were adapted to reduce onboarding friction and make the experience feel like a natural extension of what users already knew.
Final Designs
Document View
The document view shows the selected document alongside AI matched claims from the database of older ones and unverified ones from the new one. This allows proofreaders everything they need on a single screen.
Match Detail
Selecting a matched claim surfaces results from previously approved documents found in the database. Proofreaders can review multiple instances of similar language in one place without leaving the app.
Concept Pitch
The working prototype was presented to a pharmaceutical executive as part of an internal pitch, resulting in positive feedback and a referral to a potential investor. Following the presentation, a stakeholder recommended narrowing the scope. The original all in one platform vision would focus on what Prototyp did best, automating the document matching process. Document editing would remain in existing tools, repositioning Prototyp as a companion rather than a replacement.
Key Takeaway
This project reinforced that alignment is not a one-time conversation. Collaborating across different specialties requires clear communication and regular check-ins to keep decisions grounded in both user needs and technical reality. When both happen consistently, a project can move successfully from sketch to final handoff.
Next Steps
The next phase would be to incorporate the feedback on the suggested pivot, updating the user flow and defining the visual style for UI components beyond mid-fidelity wireframes.
