Designed two internal platforms from scratch — one for employees, one for franchisees — to simplify training, increase engagement, and reduce operational load.

Helping users go from “Where do I start?” to confidently doing the work.

Role: Lead UX/UI Designer (from discovery to launch)

Team: PMs, developers, content writers, training experts, franchise support

Timeline: 1-year contract (full project cycle)

Impact: • 40% faster onboarding • 60% increase in certification completion • Significant drop in franchisee support calls • Higher employee confidence • Smoother franchise onboarding experience

Overview

The problem: Everything was scattered — PDFs, slides, in-person sessions.

The goal: Replace scattered tools with systems that actually help people — not overwhelm them.

The solution: I built two mobile-first platforms from scratch — one for new staff, one for franchisees.

Designing for people under pressure — short on time, low on digital confidence — is the kind of work I care about most.

The Challenge

Two different needs: Employees needed quick, motivating lessons. Franchisees needed structure, support, and clarity.

Blank slate: There was no system in place — no flows, no UI, no real content strategy.

Real-life limits: We had to design for people with low digital confidence, on different devices, in different types of stores.

Balancing trust, clarity, and motivation — for two very different journeys — was the real design challenge.

My Role

I joined this project as the lead UX/UI designer, working closely with the product owner, developers, and an internal team at Subway.

My job was to turn a chaotic mix of training materials, franchise documentation, and vague expectations into two clear, user-friendly platforms.

I was responsible for the full design process:

  • Running user interviews and internal discovery sessions

  • Synthesizing research into insights and direction

  • Creating user flows, IA, and wireframes

  • Building UI components and final designs

  • Supporting development and iterating post-launch based on feedback

👋 Hey there! Just a quick note before we begin.

This case study focuses on what truly matters: the thinking, the users, the tough problems and how design helped solve them.
Rather than detailing every screen or UI decision, it highlights the core challenges, key insights, and the product decisions they shaped.

Research & Discovery

This project started with a lot of listening. I spoke to employees, franchisees, and internal teams to understand how things really worked and what could be improved.

I explored how people worked, what slowed them down, and what they needed most. It wasn’t just about spotting pain points, it was about understanding the bigger picture and the behaviors behind it.

Understanding the Users

The project began with a deep dive into Subway’s training processes and business needs.

We were building two platforms for two very different audiences, in parallel. Both had to be designed, tested, and launched at the same time, which meant juggling different user needs and keeping everything aligned.

  • Employees, some brand‑new to the workforce, needing clear, bite‑sized guidance.

  • Franchisees, experienced business operators but unfamiliar with Subway restaurant operations

How I approached research

  • I interviewed Subway HQ staff to understand the structure of training and the business priorities.

  • I spoke with store employees — mostly by Zoom, to see how they navigated current materials, what confused them, and what actually helped.

  • I attended a few in-person sessions just before lockdown, which gave me a firsthand look at how chaotic and outdated the training process was. It felt more like an old-school classroom than practical job preparation and clearly wasn’t working for most.

  • I reviewed both employee and franchisee onboarding materials to find unclear steps, missing context, and processes that no longer matched real-life operations.

What I discovered

  • Training was overwhelming. New hires were expected to memorize far too much at once, and managers didn’t always have bandwidth for one‑on‑one guidance.

  • Materials were scattered across PDFs, slide decks, and videos, no single source of truth.

  • Franchisees had no clear roadmap: they juggled scattered emails, phone calls, and brochures, often unsure what step came next.

  • Digital confidence varied widely; some users were digital natives, while others were intimidated by anything beyond simple chat apps.

Design

Designing for two very different user groups meant balancing simplicity with flexibility. I created user flows, wireframes, and prototypes that turned complex training and onboarding journeys into something approachable and clear.

The focus was on intuitive structure, fast access to the right info, and giving users a sense of progress and confidence along the way.

Wireframing & Prototyping

Once we had a clear structure and direction, I started translating research into low- and mid-fidelity wireframes. This stage was all about testing flow, clarity, and content hierarchy without getting distracted by visuals.

I built interactive prototypes to validate ideas early, both with internal stakeholders and real users. This helped us quickly spot friction points, confusing language, or dead-end screens and fix them before any pixel-perfect work began. It also helped everyone (especially non-designers) imagine how the platform would actually feel in use, not just look in slides.

UI Design

The visual design needed to feel clean, confident, and accessible, especially for employees who might be using the platform on a small phone screen during a busy shift.

I created a flexible UI system with reusable components that could scale as content grew. I focused on clarity over cleverness: readable typography, strong contrast, large tap targets, and clear feedback states. I also added subtle visual cues to support learning, from progress markers to playful badges to make the experience feel less like “mandatory training” and more like something people actually want to finish.

Results & Learnings

This project reminded me how much clarity and empathy matter, not just in design, but in communication overall. We weren’t just building a tool, we were helping people feel less lost on their first day, more confident running a business, and more connected to a brand they’d chosen to work with.

Employee Learning Platform

For Subway staff, the portal became a true all‑in‑one resource:

  • Micro‑learning modules: Quick explainer videos, scenario‑based quizzes, and interactive checkpoints.

  • Scheduled certification events: Every quarter, staff participate in a live, timed assessment. Those who pass on schedule receive official certification.

  • Digital library: Mobile‑friendly recipes, ingredient specs, and step‑by‑step sandwich guides, all organized for lightning‑fast lookup.

  • “Ask a Question” form: Submit questions directly through the portal and get timely, documented answers from the support team.

  • Automated assessments & badges: Digital badges and progress bars reward milestones and keep motivation high.

  • Gamified leaderboards: Friendly competition dashboards showcase top performers and spotlight success stories from the field.

  • Offline mode & adaptive content: Downloadable lessons for low‑connectivity stores, with dynamic content that adapts to each user’s role and progress.

Franchisee Portal

We created a dedicated hub where prospective and new franchise owners could:

  • Explore a knowledge base of restaurant‑opening best practices, marketing templates, and brand guidelines

  • Complete self‑paced courses on topics like site selection, staffing, and health‑safety compliance

  • Join live webinars and online events for Q&A with Subway experts

  • Read the latest news on promotions, menu updates, and operational changes

  • Submit questions directly through the portal and receive timely responses from support teams

Results we saw

  • +40% faster onboarding for new employees, based on internal training metrics.

  • Certifications completion rate grew by 60% after the platform launched — especially among stores with high staff turnover.

  • Franchisee onboarding time dropped significantly, with fewer support calls and more self-service usage.

  • Positive feedback from both employees and HQ: people felt better supported and less overwhelmed during training.

And personally?

Designing for Subway challenged me to support multiple user types at once, balancing simplicity for first-time employees with the structure and depth needed by business owners.

I also sharpened my skills working cross-functionally with content, training, and development teams, translating operational goals into something people actually wanted to use, not just something they had to.

Like many real-world projects, it looked deceptively simple. But beneath the surface, it touched hierarchy, behavior change, retention, and trust. Exactly the kind of challenge I love.