Rethinking Video Production In One Room
Built for the moments between the edits.
role:
Product Design Intern
timeline:
Oct 2025 - Jan 2026
team:
5 Designers
Pactto Founders
Design Mentor
skills:
Product Design
User Research
Product Strategy
overview
What if video editors and their teams had one intelligent space to review, communicate, and manage work — without ever switching tools?
Pactto is an AI-powered canvas that unifies the entire video production workflow from live meetings to async review, so creators and reviewers can give feedback, make decisions, and get work done in one shared space. For 16 weeks, my team and I worked directly with the founders to research, ideate 120+ concepts, and prototype features that would (1) merge into Pactto’s existing design system and (2) differentiate itself from other canvas collaboration creative tools.
Currently Pactto Before Redesign
Pactto enables teams to upload assets (images, documents, videos, etc.), annotate live canvases, and manage project documentation through sticky notes before transitioning into live meetings with integrated screensharing.
the problem
Context, time, and momentum are lost with every tool switch
Currently, video editors and their teams rely on a patchwork of apps and systems to get work done — one tool for review, another for feedback, and another for task management. Each switch fragments the workflow, creating gaps where context gets lost during the communication.
By the time feedback reaches the edit, clarity is already compromised. It’s buried in threads, messages, emails, and scattered notes. Video editors need a solution that provides a single space to keep the entire team aligned, from the first review to the final cut.
solution
Meet Pactto: one room, full story — an AI-powered canvas and live conference tool where feedback, decisions, and work all live together
We redesigned and expanded the Pactto current experience with expressive commenting, AI-automated tasks and summaries, and a focus mode. This makes it an intelligent space for all work and collaboration needs.
02. Spoken Feedback
Leaving feedback without typing a word
Speak your thoughts! AI instantly transcribes your feedback into a note pinned to the exact moment in the asset.
03. AI Chat
Every meeting, captured and summarized
Every live session is automatically distilled into clear summaries and action items, keeping teams aligned and ready to move forward.
04. Focus Mode
Your space to focus and compare
A dedicated space to review comments up close and compare versions side by side so nothing gets missed before the final cut.
Sorry! This feature is all I’m allowed to share publicly
Out of respect for confidentiality agreements, this feature is kept private. However, if you’d like to learn more about my time at Pactto, please reach out!
research
We went straight to the source — the creatives themselves
To find where AI could meaningfully support the video production process, various research methods were conducted: user interviews, surveys, journey mapping, affinity mapping, external research on the video production process, and a competitive analysis matrix with 22+ creatives (video editors, storyboard artists, filmmakers) to better understand their workflows and where AI could reduce the task load. From affinity mapping, two core findings stood out and shaped our design direction.
Core research findings:
1. Creatives wanted AI to handle the operational work, freeing them to focus on what they do best: the creative work itself. Less manual admin work, more energy towards creating.
2. Nearly 43% of survey users missed critical feedback when absent from meetings, forced to reconstruct it across email and Slack. Missed deadlines, repeated work, and misdirected edits followed. They needed context that outlasted the meeting.
opportunity
Bridging live collaboration and async work
In addition, we spent time and realigned with the founders on one key question: Was Pactto a conference tool or a collaboration tool? We landed on collaboration, which meant going beyond a live meeting room to support the entire workflow without interrupting the creative process or forcing teams to jump between tools.
ideation
What could we create with 120+ feature ideas?
With these two findings and opportunity as our north star, we set out to design a space where feedback persists beyond the meeting, and AI handles the work that gets in the way of creating.
Initially, we each explored existing collaboration and video conferencing tools, mapping what worked and what fell short. Those insights fed directly into an ideation workshop with our founders and stakeholders to align on needs, goals, and priorities.
Ideation Phase
Our ideation workshop formed 120+ concepts centered around four themes: async video production collaboration, creative markup tools, structured workplace, and live meeting features. Beyond user needs, we had to weigh business priorities and what was technically feasible to design within the 7 weeks left.
Narrowing down what Pactto should have
To distill 120+ feature ideas into a focused scope, a group review was conducted to determine which features would make it into Open Beta and which would be phased in later based on priority and effort level. We determined that async feedback wasn't just a nice-to-have. It was a critical need within the video production collaboration workflow.
Some priority features from the ideation workshop
approach
Solving for diverging founder visions
With a set priority list, we had two founders with differing visions — one favored familiar design patterns, the other pushed for AI-first features. To move forward, we proposed a plan that balanced both: expressive commenting features rooted in patterns video editors already know, with AI layered in to support rather than supersede the experience.
process
Is it possible to vibe code this?
Short answer, well, yes! With 7 weeks to bring our ideas to life, we built everything from the ground up with a design system still taking shape as we designed. Weekly stakeholder reviews kept us moving fast, iterating on functional features and refining as we went. Using Google AI Studio and meta-prompting to accelerate our process, we went from concept to mockup in days rather than weeks.
Vibe Coding Process
Once approved, we rebuilt each design as Figma components, ready for handoff. Here are some of the main components, I contributed!
design decisions
Reducing visual noise
Primary yellow was appearing across buttons and elements that didn't require a CTA, creating unnecessary visual noise throughout the interface. As we iterated, we identified the issue and reserved primary yellow exclusively for CTA buttons, keeping the brand color intentional without overwhelming the UI.
Creating a task
Creating tasks raised many questions for our team — could comments double as tasks, or did users need a separate way to create them? I brought up the mental model for consideration, and we treated comments as a lightweight form of tasks.
Transform comments into tasks with a new intuitive toggle. Users can assign due dates, priorities, and team members, then filter them into a dedicated checklist for quick access to action items.
Comment side panel
We explored different placements and panel behaviors, comparing approaches to find the most intuitive way to surface comments. Landing on a side panel, keeping the canvas clear and separate from the room chat. It also became home to the AI assistant, asset tray, and session logs, consolidating everything into one toolbar.
reflections
Build fast, iterate faster
My first time working for a startup, and they move fast. Perfection wasn't the goal. Building, testing, and iterating quickly to gather weekly feedback and continuously improve the product was.
Finding opportunity in constraints
Working closely with founders and stakeholders taught me that not every idea makes it, and what matters is how you respond to that. Pactto refined my ability to adapt quickly, advocate for my decisions, and stay open to course corrections.
today
Pactto is in Closed Beta
Pactto is currently in closed beta, testing with agencies and creatives, with early feedback validating the direction our team brought to life. Our work hasn't shipped yet, but Pactto is using our designs as a blueprint in conversations with their development team as features roll out in phases. With 300+ users on the waitlist, the demand is there, and the work we did is part of the conversation around what gets built next.
thank you
Looking back on the most ambitious project I’ve worked on yet
Immense gratitude to my team: Britney, Kelvin, Mahin, Iris, Johnny, and the founders: Demian and Sherif. Working and growing alongside such a talented, driven team showed me what it truly means to be part of a great one. We had the opportunity to present our work twice: once virtually in front of leading industry designers, and again live to an audience of 150+ at Demo Day in SF (with little sleep from our busy late-night work sessions and side-tracked convos haha).
Cheers for an unforgettable experience and a fun product to work on 🎉
