Burris Logistics

Before you read...

Due to multiple NDAs associated with this role, I am limited to sharing high level information only. Specific details and visual assets cannot be shown publicly.

Taking on a Stretch Opportunity

While actively working on both the Business Operations and Research and Development contracts, my manager at Dynamo asked if I had the bandwidth to assist with a smaller consulting project. At the time, my workload was already full, but I saw this as an opportunity to prove that I could be trusted with additional responsibility. Wanting to position myself as someone Dynamo could rely on for new work, I agreed to take it on.

What was pitched as a lightweight engagement ended up being short but surprisingly complex, and ultimately a valuable learning experience.

Client Background and Context

Burris Logistics specializes in freight distribution and food service redistribution. They were an early client of Dynamo, and leadership had maintained a long standing relationship with them. When Burris identified a need for external design input, Dynamo’s CEO reached out to me directly, citing my recent work on BusOps and Research and Development as the reason.

Burris already had an internal team of developers and designers. They were not looking for execution support, but rather a design consultation to explore enhancements to an existing internal tool.

Defining the Problem

The request focused on improving their Item Management Portal. This portal was responsible for managing product information associated with distributors, and it needed to support two core use cases. Users had to be able to navigate through thousands of items efficiently, and they also needed the ability to edit large sets of products at once to avoid repetitive work.

At first glance, this seemed like a straightforward usability problem. That assumption quickly changed after reviewing a demo of the existing portal.

Uncovering Hidden Complexity

Each item in the system contained a significant amount of information, including vendor locations, temperature zones, unit of measure conversions, food safety categories, and more. The challenge was not a lack of data, but an overwhelming amount of it. Displaying all of this information in a way that felt clear and usable without overwhelming the user became the central design problem.

This was a classic case of an internal tool that had grown organically over time, prioritizing data capture over clarity and workflow efficiency.

Exploring and Iterating on Concepts

I began by creating several low fidelity concepts to test different layout and organization approaches. These early designs were shared directly with stakeholders to validate whether my assumptions aligned with how their teams actually worked.

One of these early directions missed the mark entirely and required me to start over. While that was initially frustrating, it helped clarify what the stakeholders valued most and where flexibility mattered. After regrouping, I produced a new concept that better balanced information density with usability, which the team felt was worth expanding further.

Designing with Real Data in Mind

For the high fidelity designs, I closely referenced the existing portal and replicated real world data patterns so stakeholders could clearly see how the proposed changes would function in practice. The design direction leaned on Material UI principles, using tabs to organize vendor specific information within a single item and reduce cognitive overload.

I focused heavily on visual hierarchy and action clarity. Primary actions such as creating a new item were made more prominent through color contrast, while secondary actions were visually de emphasized. I also introduced clearer iconography and layout patterns to help users scan dense content more efficiently.

Handing Off with Confidence

Once the high fidelity designs were complete, the Burris team felt they had enough clarity to move forward without an interactive prototype. Given their internal capabilities, the designs served as a strong conceptual blueprint rather than a prescriptive implementation.

I confirmed this approach with Dynamo leadership, and we agreed that the Burris team was well equipped to take the work forward independently.

Outcomes and Impact

Although my engagement lasted fewer than four months, the final designs successfully delivered what Burris was looking for. The proposed improvements addressed several usability issues within the Item Management Portal, including clearer button visibility and organization, better use of iconography to save space, support for multi select actions, color based visual cues, modal driven workflows, and collapsible sections to manage dense information.

The project reinforced how impactful short term design engagements can be when they are tightly focused on solving the right problem.

Key Learnings

Internal tools often hide significant complexity, and understanding real data structures is critical before proposing design solutions.
Early concepts do not need to be perfect, but they do need to surface misalignment quickly so time is not wasted refining the wrong direction.
Designing with realistic content builds trust and helps stakeholders evaluate usability more effectively than abstract layouts.
Visual hierarchy plays an outsized role in dense enterprise interfaces where users must make frequent decisions quickly.
Not every project requires a prototype, especially when working with experienced internal teams who can interpret design intent.
Short consulting engagements can still deliver meaningful value when the scope is clear and the problem is well defined.