Substantio 3.0 brings a new, clear and bright user interface to the world of product and material compliance. For the new look, the Substantio development team collaborated with graphic and web designer Estefanía Alvarez. In this interview, she explains how a rebranding turned into a comprehensive UX project – and what users can concretely expect from the new design.
Estefanía Alvarez is a graphic and web designer. Originally from Spain, she studied graphic design at the University of Madrid and additionally holds an MBA in Innovation & Digital Marketing. She has worked as an online marketing manager in various companies and also works as a freelance web designer.
“Substantio is one of my favourite projects. Above all because it wasn’t just a one-off, short-term assignment – I’ve been continuously working with Substantio since 2024. I was able to rework and redesign the brand from the ground up. That’s something special, because over time you can see how the brand keeps growing, and how the new design doesn’t just affect the logo but every area of the company – now even the core product, the software itself.”
“For the 2024 rebranding I developed a new overall brand identity: logo, colours, typography and graphic elements – everything people see externally. We defined the new design in a corporate design manual and then gradually rolled it out everywhere: in the completely new website, but also in the newsletter and in Substantio’s social media presence.”
“Good branding fits the brand – and at the same time is distinctive enough to stand out and be remembered.
In the past, Substantio used a lot of dark colours. We wanted to bring more light into the brand, just as the software itself does: it brings light into compliance processes. I translated that into fresh colours and visual highlights.
Now Substantio has its own unmistakable look that shows the brand in the best possible light. That, for me, is successful branding.”
“UX or user interface design is not only about how things look – it focuses above all on user guidance and the overall experience. The software interface should look more modern and structured. At the same time, design can help make the software easier and more intuitive to use.
That was also my goal for Substantio. To achieve it, I first had to try out the software myself and have typical use cases demonstrated and explained to me. As a test user, I quickly noticed where we could improve the UI – so that users can find what they need faster and reach their goal with fewer clicks.”
“I worked closely with Substantio’s software developers and sales team throughout the entire process.
We went through the technical functionalities for all typical use cases and implemented optimizations together – for example, the placement of buttons. With targeted visual design alone, you can give users a lot of support in navigating through the software step by step.
For users, this means: more orientation, less searching – and overall a calmer, clearer experience when working in the interface.”
“The first thing I noticed was that too much information was displayed on a single view. I wanted to create more space and overview, with the goal that users can quickly find everything and that their eye is better guided.
So I increased the spacing and only displayed relevant content on each page. This makes the interface feel calmer without removing any functionality.”
“First, we aligned the software colours with the corporate design. For the font, we chose an open, modern typeface that is ideal for web interfaces.
Details are often crucial – for example, the menu icons. I redesigned all icons so they are more minimalistic and modern while at the same time easier to understand. Now they’re all cut from the same cloth. There were really a lot of icons for which I had to find a suitable, consistent look (laughs).
In the end, it’s exactly this consistency that helps users find their way around more quickly and intuitively know where to click.”
“I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. Even though it’s a bit unusual for creative minds, I love structure and logical flows. When I can then present those in a beautiful and user-centric way, that’s perfect for me.
I also really enjoyed understanding the technical background and deliberately optimizing the interface. That’s why I’m very grateful to the Substantio team for their trust in my skills.”
“The new design was first presented to a group of existing customers, and the feedback was consistently positive. The Substantio sales team told me that the customers they spoke with were thrilled – and that many of them ordered the update* after just a few minutes.
For me, that’s the best compliment, because in the end the design has to resonate with users and make their day-to-day work easier.”
*Editor’s note: The update to Substantio 3.0 is free of charge for existing customers. New customers automatically receive Substantio 3.0.
“Definitely the Advanced Search. This feature is extremely important, because it allows users to very quickly find the most important information about materials or declaration status.
This area needs to be highly visible while at the same time not taking up too much space. I think we found a very good solution: the buttons for Advanced Search are always right where you need them. They are visually highlighted and can be opened and filled in whenever required.”
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