What happened

On August 28, 2025, Smartsheet announced that its new app loading screen was generally available across the platform - the splash experience every user sees while the app boots up.

Loading screens are one of those surfaces that live in a gap: they're highly visible, they set the tone for the whole product, and yet they rarely have a clear owner. That's exactly the kind of surface I love to take on.

Where I fit in

This one is a good example of what design engineering can do when someone owns a problem end-to-end:

• Design - I partnered with a product designer to design the new loading experience, and I focused on the animations and motion - the timing, easing, and feel of the whole sequence.
• Implementation - I then fully implemented it myself, front to back, and drove it all the way to general availability.

Being able to work across the entire design → implementation stack meant this legacy surface could be brought into the modern age without waiting on a hand-off between disciplines. Bringing neglected, high-visibility surfaces up to modern standards is a huge, quiet UX win - and it's some of the most satisfying work I do.

Dig deeper

I wrote a full case study on the design and engineering behind it:

• Loading Screen Revamp @ Smartsheet → - the deep dive on the motion system, the design decisions, and the implementation.

Read the announcement

• Smartsheet's new app loading screen is now generally available → (Smartsheet)