LinkedIn: Realish

Enabling safe and trusted content for LinkedIn designers

Duration

May - Aug 2023

Role

Product Design Intern

Team

Design Systems

Overview

What did I do?

Realish is an internal Figma plugin used by LinkedIn design teams that helps designers ensure that the content in their mockups is safe and legally approved.

During my 12 week internship on the design systems team, my role was to create a feature that allows designers to incorporate long-form content into their mockups.

Overview

What is Realish?

Over the years, LinkedIn's Design Systems team and UXR built an extensive library of archetypal user data for designers to use in their prototypes. However, the library became overcrowded due to the varying needs of different teams, making it annoying for designers to switch between the library and their work.

The answer to this was: Realish, an internal Figma plugin that allows designers to seamlessly integrate content from the library directly into their designs with just a click of a button.

overview

The problem…

Realish started with short-form content for mockups, but as demand grew for long-form content like posts and articles, designers had to manually pull random, outdated, or self-written text.

long form content needs

These approaches posed significant risks, as designers might inadvertently use content from real LinkedIn members or copyrighted sources. This could result n privacy violations, data breaches, or potential legal issues for the company.

HOW MIGHT WE…

How might we create and maintain meaningful mock content that makes crafting design stories and designing product experiences easier?

Research

User interviews

I reached out to 25 designers and UXR across different organizations on their long-form content usage/needs, and also asked select Realish users on their thoughts and pain points.

"There are a lot of times I need longer content in my work, such as posts and comments"

"I don't know where to find the appropriate content to put in my mockups"

💡 Key insights

68%

Designers typically needed long-form content in their mockups

84%

Most designers manually sourced content instead of using the Realish database

18%

Few designers were aware of the risks that came with manually sourcing content

Research

Success metrics

80% satisfaction score

Track usage metrics for frequent use

ideation

Initial sketches

My initial sketches struggled to break away from existing Realish designs. This was a problem since Realish's design was focused on short-form content, leading to limited exploration of new ideas.

initial sketches

To gain a fresh perspective, I looked for inspiration beyond Realish and the plugin space. I realized that Realish didn't have to stay the same; it could be adapted as a whole to accommodate long-form content as well.

I explored new layouts for Realish, hoping to transform it into a more versatile tool.

ideation

Product planning

Upon talking to engineers, I realized that my ideas were becoming increasingly ambitious and not all were feasible for immediate release.

my growing ideas…

I began prioritizing the most realistic approaches for the beta release, while planning for future iterations to scale the product as user needs evolve.

final solution

Phase 1: MVP

new long form content card

Phase 2: Search & expand

filter and search for content

Phase 3: Viewer mode

unifying design storytelling

At the time, all the cards on Realish were random and not connected. "Viewer mode" would let. users view all cards associated to a specific entity.

Phase 4: Generative

generative realish

final solution

User testing

I was able to conduct A/B testing with designers to test out the final features. Some of the key iterations that were made based on feedback:

Changed content hierarchy to more closely resemble an actual LinkedIn post
Replaced author pill with other post-related content to reduce confusion

User feedback

Reflection

Impact

This project went beyond providing safe, trusted content — it fostered a culture of user respect and understanding. It helps designers tell specific segment stories, supports UXR in bringing archetypal user data into prototypes, and outlines future features to boost design productivity at LinkedIn.

I'm happy to share that this feature was launched in September after my internship and is currently being used by LinkedIn designers across all organizations!

reflection

What did I learn?

✋ constraints

👍 rooms for improvement

🪜 next steps

Understanding different needs

Mock content needs can vary based on different use cases (e.g. the Publishing team would need more articles, whereas the Flagship team would need more posts).

Breaking out of what exists

Initially, I felt stuck within Realish's prior UI that centered around short-form content. I had to learn to think outside of the box and not be afraid to explore new and innovative design possibilities.

No perfect solution

Unlike school, there is no right or wrong when it comes to design. I had to learn to make smart design choices based on various stakeholder input and needs.

Understanding business goals

It was important for me to realize that my role as a designer extended beyond just understanding user needs. I had to understand the underlying business goals and the material impact of my work.

Usage tracking

Tracking whether this feature is something that designers reach for and benefits from (comparing its usage with other entity cards and sending out satisfaction surveys)