01Meet Copia
Version history for the code that runs factories
Every factory machine runs on code. That code lives on PLCs, small rugged computers that tell motors, valves and robot arms what to do.
A bad change can stop a production line. Copia is like Google Docs version history for that code: every change saved, compared and traceable. It's built on Git, the tool software teams use to track their code.
I joined as Copia's first full-time designer, the only designer working with 15+ engineers.
02The story in 6 panels
Push, pull, merge… say what?
- Push? Pull? Merge?… I just want to save my change!
The problemMost controls engineers are new to Git. Learning Copia was already a climb, and Git's words made it steeper.
- Easy! Let's rename everything.
The askCustomer success heard it on onboarding calls, and knew the legacy industry well. Their idea made sense.
- Wait. Let's think twice.
The pauseBefore building what was asked, design asked why.
The diggingRecorded calls, the founders' reasons for choosing Git, and customers who onboarded well.
The insightIf Copia invents its own words, only Copia can help. Git words come with millions of tutorials, videos and forum answers already written.
The bridgeLegacy industrial automation meets the future-facing software world. Keep the Git terms, and explain each one in everyday words.
Who's who: the sticky girl with glasses is me, the designer · orange is customer success · the hard hat is a controls engineer (green once it clicks)
03The pause
First the why. Then the how.
Understand the why behind the what, and the how behind the why.
Customer success's idea came from real observation: users struggling with words that felt foreign, in an industry with decades of its own vocabulary. Renaming would have felt friendly on day one. So before anything got built, design asked questions.
- How will users get help when we're not in the room?If Copia invents its own words, Copia is the only place to learn them. Git words open up the whole internet as a help desk, so users become independent.
- Could a familiar word mean the wrong thing?"Folder", "upload" and "asset" already mean different things in different tools and situations. A borrowed everyday word can send people down the wrong path.
- Where is the industry heading?Factory teams are starting to work like software teams. Learn the words once, and they work everywhere, in every tool.
04The solution
Keep the words. Build the bridge.
We kept the Git words, and I designed a bridge from the legacy terms to them, so nobody has to learn alone. In the product, every Git word comes with an informational tooltip that explains it in everyday terms.
Flash cards: tap a word to see what it means
Illustrations of the tooltip pattern, not exact product copy.
Now try it in a sketch of the product
Flip between factory words and Git words, then look at where the search box can find you help.
Pie Plant Line2-Conveyor Studio5000 PLC
Hover or tap a word.
A playful sketch, not the real product. The plant and line names are made up, and so are the help results.
And now, a structure that says it too
My most recent work takes the bridge into the product's structure. I reorganized Copia into two product suites, so the Git words sit inside a frame engineers already recognize:
The plain-language glossary is public ↗, and customer success and support engineers teach the "translation" in every customer training. It became part of how Copia sells.
05More from Copia
One of many stories
In my first weeks I also sketched a long-term vision, Copia 2.0. Pieces of it shipped over the next two years, including an AI assistant and multi-site agents.
- Kudos to Surbhi for diving right in, and asking fantastic clarifying questions in a meeting on her day 4.A teammate, Nov 2023
- Kudos to Surbhi for that spectacular walk-thru she just gave. I was actually mouth agape at a couple points. Brava!!!!A teammate, May 2025
See the vision, Copilot and more
- OnboardingListen to everyone
- ShippedMulti-site agents
- ShippedProject detail edit experience
- ★ North starCopia 2.0
Grounded in: 1:1 research, design sprints with Copians, and a running catalog of Chorus calls, feedback, internal ideas and industry innovations.
Copia Copilot
I kicked off Copilot's design in real-time pairing with our co-founder and 2 engineers, from napkin sketches to live-designed mocks. With industry specialists, we focused on the most impactful features, and I pushed for user experience over fast-fashion ideas: streaming responses, feedback, the non-subscribed experience and multi-item context.
Copia, at launch"Copia Copilot is the first step in our vision to integrate AI into industrial code management." Announcement, Nov 2024 ↗
- AI that explains changesAI describes what changed in a machine's code, and people stay in charge. Docs ↗
- Human in the loopHolding back automatic remote deploys until people's role is clear: code can move a robot arm
- Design nitpick sessions35+ one-hour sessions with engineers on consistency, accessibility and UX
- Research opsSet up our research tools, process and user recruiting
- Your collaboration, questions, and approach to work is world class, and I learned a lot from both of you.A teammate, Oct 2025
- Kudos goes to Surbhi as well for all of her design work on this.Copilot launch, Nov 2024