Canvas

Overview

Canvas is Columbia University’s primary course management system, but when I first started using it, I found its interface frustrating and cluttered. Important information was hard to find, and the design didn’t prioritize the main user needs: quick navigation and clear visibility of assignments.

I redesigned Canvas with a focus on clarity, hierarchy, and efficiency. My goal was to streamline the experience so students can access their most important tasks quickly without being overwhelmed by unnecessary details.

Pain Points

Overall, the main pain points for the users are these:

1. Cluttered Interface – Too much unnecessary text and redundant elements on the dashboard and course pages.

2. Poor Information Hierarchy – Key details like upcoming assignments were buried, while irrelevant details (course numbers, instructor names) dominated the interface.

3. Visual Overload – Large graphics that added no real value consumed significant screen space.

I will go more in-depth with each page that I redesigned.

Courses page redesign

The Courses page is where students start, so it should provide immediate value without visual overload. To achieve this, I removed nonessential text like course numbers and instructor names and introduced a “Next Assignment” snippet under each course title. This addition serves as a quick reminder of what’s due next without distracting from the primary function of the page—accessing course content. I also established a stronger visual hierarchy by making course titles more prominent while relegating secondary details, such as semester information, to the bottom in smaller text. To make navigation more intuitive, I added color coding and simple graphics for each course. These visual identifiers reduce cognitive load by allowing students to recognize courses at a glance instead of reading every title repeatedly.

Dashboard redesign

The original Canvas dashboard featured large decorative graphics that served no functional purpose, taking up nearly half of the viewport. This wasted space limited the number of visible assignments and forced unnecessary scrolling. In the redesign, I removed these oversized visuals and instead focused on maximizing assignment visibility, allowing up to six upcoming tasks to be displayed without feeling overwhelming. To provide quick visual cues, I introduced small, meaningful icons next to assignments, such as symbols for quizzes, papers, and discussions. These changes keep the dashboard focused, practical, and visually consistent with the redesigned Courses page.

Individual course page redesign

On individual course pages, the main issue was the confusing navigation structure. Tabs like “Home,” “Course Info,” and “Syllabus” often contained redundant or static content, forcing students to click multiple times to find assignments. In my redesign, I simplified this layout by prioritizing assignments as the central feature. Since students typically open Canvas to check deadlines and submit work, assignments should be immediately visible upon entering a course page. Long blocks of text were deprioritized, creating a clean, task-oriented interface that minimizes friction and cognitive overload.

Product Pitch

While redesigning the interface improved usability, I saw an opportunity for Canvas to provide even more value through automation. All academic schedules and deadlines already live on the platform, which gives Canvas a comparative advantage over external tools. Drawing inspiration from my previous project, LionCal—a system that used language models to extract event details from emails and organize them into a calendar—I proposed a similar feature for Canvas: automatic calendar integration. This feature would allow Canvas to sync assignment due dates and class events directly to Google Calendar or iCal, or display them in a built-in calendar view. By automating this process with LLM-powered parsing, students would no longer need to manually copy deadlines into their personal calendars, reducing effort and minimizing missed assignments.

Takeaways

This redesign reinforced several principles of effective user experience design. First, less is more—removing unnecessary elements creates clarity and makes essential information easier to find. Second, hierarchy matters—design should reflect user priorities, placing critical information like assignments front and center. Third, consistency builds trust—a cohesive visual system across pages makes navigation intuitive and predictable. Finally, automation enhances value—features like calendar sync go beyond aesthetics to offer practical, time-saving benefits.

By reimagining Canvas through these principles, I created a design that better serves students’ real needs: clarity, efficiency, and convenience.