PTC Arena PLM

Duration

June - August 2025

Leveraged Skills

Product Design

Product Strategy

Tools

Figma

Adobe CC

Contributions

Sagarika Verma

Jannelle Jansen

Dani Cordsen

00. Details

Over the summer, I designed a global search experience for PTC Arena. Previously, searches were limited to specific worlds, so I created a unified system that improves discoverability, makes searching and editing easier, and enables quick filtering.

This is an abridged study. Please reach out for more details.

01. Current State

Finding Something Shouldn’t Be This Hard

Excessive dropdowns and clicks make regular + advanced searches a struggle.

Excessive dropdowns and clicks make regular + advanced searches a cognitive struggle.

02. The Problem

No global search → users can’t find information across the system in one accessible space

Static and cluttered menus require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

Cluttered & static menu require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

No global search → users can’t find information across the system in one place

Cluttered & static menus require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

How might we reduce the friction of searching and manual filtering by creating a smarter, more unified search experience that’s responsive and presents results clearly?

How might we eliminate the friction of searching and manual filtering by creating a smarter, more responsive, and unified search experience that’s presents results clearly?

03. Design

I built a new way to search

Globalsearch

Everything you need up front with reduced cognitive load that's responsive, predictive, and actionable.

Global search

Everything you need up front with reduced cognitive load that's responsive, predictive, and actionable.

Global search

Everything you need up front with reduced cognitive load that's responsive, predictive, and actionable.

Streamlining

Previously, recently Searched and Recently Visited were split into two separate sections. This distinction between the two wasn’t strong enough to justify their separation + real estate.

Previously, recently searched and recently visited were split into two separate sections. This distinction between the two wasn’t strong enough to justify their separation + real estate.

Prioritizing relevance, Preserving depth

The redesigned search menu prioritizes the most relevant and personalized information upfront, giving users immediate access to what matters most without unnecessary distractions

Anticipatory searches

Search is responsive and more “conversational”, auto-populating filters tailored to each user. It learns from behavior and past searches to suggest quick tags that take users directly to their results.

Search is responsive and more “conversational”, auto-populating filters tailored to each user. It learns from behavior and past searches to suggest quick tags that take users directly to their results.

Unified results across all modules

Arena’s data lives in separate ‘worlds’ (Items, Changes, Quality, etc.). The redesign surfaces results from multiple worlds together using AG Grid —> lower engineering effort, high user impact.

Unified results across all modules

Arena’s data lives in separate ‘worlds’ (Items, Changes, Quality, etc.). The redesign surfaces results from multiple worlds together —> lower engineering effort, high user impact.

Unified results across all modules

Arena’s data lives in separate ‘worlds’ (Items, Changes, Quality, etc.). The redesign surfaces results from multiple worlds together —> lower engineering effort, high user impact.

Smarter ways to view your searches while staying in flow.

I designed smarter ways to browse without leaving your workflow

Contextual
split-view

Introducing a new Arena layout, a more intuitive way to browse results. Cards make it easier to scan, preview, and dive deeper, all without losing depth of context.

Compact glance

Currated info

Key details in compact cards.
Easier to scan and compare than tables.
Clean, consistent structure for all objects.

Personalized for your workflow

Do even more with the information that you have. Customize your view and how much information you can digest at once.

Do more with the information that you have. Customize your view and how much information you can digest at once.

Depth without disruption

Preview in side cards, all while expanding objects for access to richer context without losing your place.

Edit inline directly within preview mode.

Arena AI integration

With Arena AI, search becomes intuitive, learning your patterns, surfacing what matters, and keeping you in flow

04. Micro-Interactions

Tag interaction patterns

Fit tags to specific filter context: quick select, keyword entry, or custom text

05. Additional Considerations

Icon redesign

I redesigned the company’s icons for a more modern, consistent look, all drawn by me in Figma with scalable vector paths.

World Icons

System Icons

PTC Arena PLM

Finding Something Shouldn’t Be This Hard

No global search → users can’t find information across the system in one accessible space

Static and cluttered menus require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

Cluttered & static menu require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

No global search → users can’t find information across the system in one place

Cluttered & static menus require too many clicks → overwhelming and inefficient

How might we reduce the friction of searching and manual filtering by creating a smarter, more unified search experience that’s responsive and presents results clearly?

I built a new way to search

Globalsearch

Everything you need up front with reduced cognitive load that's responsive, predictive, and actionable.

Global search

Global search

Streamlining

Previously, recently Searched and Recently Visited were split into two separate sections. This distinction between the two wasn’t strong enough to justify their separation + real estate.

Prioritizing relevance, Preserving depth

The redesigned search menu prioritizes the most relevant and personalized information upfront, giving users immediate access to what matters most without unnecessary distractions

Anticipatory searches

Search is responsive and more “conversational”, auto-populating filters tailored to each user. It learns from behavior and past searches to suggest quick tags that take users directly to their results.

Unified results across all modules

Unified results across all modules

Unified results across all modules

Smarter ways to view your searches while staying in flow.

Contextual split-view

Introducing a new Arena layout, a more intuitive way to browse results. Cards make it easier to scan, preview, and dive deeper, all without losing depth of context.

Compact glance

Currated info

Currated info

Key details in compact cards.Easier to scan and compare than tables.Clean, consistent structure for all objects.

Personalized for your workflow

Do even more with the information that you have. Customize your view and how much information you can digest at once.

Depth without disruption

Preview in side cards, all while expanding objects for access to richer context without losing your place. Edit inline directly within preview mode.

Arena AI integration

Tag interaction patterns

Icon redesign

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Contextual
split-view

Key details in compact cards.
Easier to scan and compare than tables.
Clean, consistent structure for all objects.

Preview in side cards, all while expanding objects for access to richer context without losing your place.

Edit inline directly within preview mode.