Ketcher v3.0 — Open-Source Chemical Structure Editor

About the Project

Ketcher is an open-source web-based chemical structure editor designed for chemists and laboratory scientists. It allows users to draw and edit complex molecular structures directly in the browser. This was a pet project and extra-mile activity.

The Challenge

Set up design processes and prepare Ketcher v3 for release. This was an extra-mile activity that went beyond regular project responsibilities, driven by a passion for improving the open-source tool.

My Role

Lead Designer responsible for introducing UX research practices, establishing a design system, developing a maintainable design workflow, and creating onboarding materials for new team members and contributors.

Process

Research & UX Artifacts

Introduced structured UX research to the project for the first time. Created user personas, journey maps, and usability audit reports that informed the v3 redesign direction. Studied how chemists interact with molecular editors and identified key pain points in existing workflows.

Design System Development

Built a comprehensive design system from scratch for Ketcher v3, covering all UI components, interaction patterns specific to chemical drawing tools, and accessibility guidelines. The system was later reused for the Peptide Editor project.

Roadmap & Requirements Gathering

Created a design roadmap aligned with the development timeline. Established requirements gathering processes that bridged the gap between scientific domain knowledge and user interface design, ensuring the tool met real-world chemistry workflows.

Project & File Structure, Knowledge Base

Organized the design project file structure for scalability and maintainability. Created a comprehensive knowledge base with documentation for onboarding new designers, design decision logs, and contribution guidelines for the open-source community.

Results

Successful Ketcher v3 release with a modern, intuitive interface. The design system was reused for the Peptide Editor project, proving its scalability. Improved collaboration between designers and developers through structured processes. Implemented real-time improvements based on community feedback.

Key Learnings

Gained new skills working in a complex scientific domain where understanding the subject matter was essential for good design decisions. Refined the ability to introduce design processes into existing development workflows without causing friction, especially in an open-source environment with diverse contributors.