Asia Pacific Forum

How did SUFFIX design the online library for Asia Pacific Forum?

Asia Pacific Forum wanted to redesign an existing online library to create a more user-friendly experience. The library is built on Uwazi, a specialized document management platform for knowledge archives. SUFFIX started by studying the platform's structure to understand both its capabilities and its limitations. The work then moved through the design stages in order, from user flows that map the path each user group takes, through wireframes that lay out the data and screen structure, to a complete UI design ready to ship. Every part had to work within the Uwazi foundation.

Designing UX/UI on the Uwazi platform

Designing on top of an existing platform comes with its own constraints. The work needs to serve users while staying within the technical limits of Uwazi. SUFFIX studied the platform's structure in detail to understand what could be adjusted. The user flow was designed around how users actually search for legal documents, the wireframes laid out the structure of every screen, and the UI design stayed simple, fitting the context of a government and human rights organization website.

Search and document browsing for human rights law

An online law library carries several types of documents, including laws, reports, and manuals. Each user group searches differently. A researcher may look by specific topic, a legal practitioner by law name or country, while staff search by document type. SUFFIX designed the search and browsing system to cover these behaviors. Users can reach the document they want quickly, both through direct search and by browsing categories. The whole system was built to be easy to use across users from many countries in the Asia Pacific region.