IBM Project Monarch

Inspired by the rise of social readers like Flipboard, the concept reimagined IBM Connections through a lens of proportion, clarity, and calm. It was a response to a new standard set by consumer design, where information was not only accessible but beautifully arranged and effortless to read. Monarch became an exploration in craft and restraint, testing whether structure, rhythm, and motion could give enterprise software that same sense of ease.

The idea was to demonstrate that IBM could match the polish and thoughtfulness of leading consumer experiences while staying grounded in enterprise-level function and security.

Our team had two designers and six developers, and about eight weeks to bring the concept to life. I was responsible for the visual design and the overall interaction rhythm. The challenge was to take a dense enterprise product and rebuild it as something light, tactile, and quietly expressive.

Customers wanted to see that IBM could keep pace with a market where design was not just decoration but a way for people to understand and enjoy their tools.

We needed to prove that enterprise software could carry the same intentionality and attention to detail as the consumer apps shaping user expectations.

It offered a glimpse of what IBM’s collaboration tools could feel like when treated with the same visual care as the consumer market. For leadership, it became a talking point in conversations with clients who questioned whether IBM could design beyond its enterprise roots.

While the concept itself was never meant for release, its design principles influenced later updates to how Connections surfaced feeds in its mobile app. More importantly, it helped reframe the conversation inside IBM about what design exploration could achieve.

Typography followed a Fibonacci-based scale that reinforced visual rhythm and hierarchy. These relationships guided every decision, from the placement of metadata to the spacing of images, so the design would hold up under real data.

Color and typography stayed within IBM’s brand system but were adjusted for contrast and legibility on mobile.

To test the design, I populated the prototype with four days of real content from my own Connections feed. This revealed where the visual system struggled under real-world data and helped refine density and spacing before development began.

Once refined, I created a comprehensive design specification detailing the grids, type scales, and color mappings, along with the reasoning behind each choice. The spec became a shared reference that helped developers and stakeholders understand not just what to build, but why.

(View the full spec • 34 MB)

I also worked with developers to integrate subtle motion into the prototype. Small transitions guided attention between posts and views and brought a sense of continuity that felt uncommon in IBM’s enterprise software at the time.