Case Study
Designing Fluid Interfaces for Subsurface Navigation
Since 2018, we've partnered with one of the world's largest energy companies to design fluid, intuitive interfaces for navigating complex subsurface data—tools that geoscientists rely on for billion-dollar drilling decisions across six continents.
100
YearPartnership
40%
Faster TaskCompletion
60%
Fewer DataEntry Errors
The Challenge
Enterprise Complexity at Global Scale
One of the world's largest energy companies was digitally transforming how their geoscientists work. With exploration teams spanning six continents, thousands of specialist users, and decades of legacy systems, they needed a partner who could navigate enterprise complexity while delivering intuitive, powerful tools.
Billion-dollarDecisions
We embed with your operators to understand their work, their workarounds, and their pain points. No AI strategy should be built without understanding the humans involved.
Legacy SystemDebt
We design the conversation between human and agent: when to inform, when to ask, when to act. We prototype and test with real users before a single line of AI code is written.
ExtremeEnvironments
We don't just deliver designs. We help organizations build the muscle memory for human-AI collaboration. Training, rollout strategy, and continuous optimization.
Our Approach
Research-Driven Enterprise Design
We embedded ourselves in Shell's world, visiting platforms, shadowing interpreters, and understanding the nuances of geoscience workflows before designing a single screen.
FieldResearch
On-platform observation across multiple continents. Understanding workflows in context, not conference rooms.
UserWorkshops
Collaborative sessions with geoscientists, interpreters, and operations staff to define requirements.
DesignSystems
Creating consistency across the portfolio with scalable component libraries and interaction patterns.
IterativeDelivery
Usability testing with representative users. Refinement based on real-world feedback.
The Work
A Portfolio of Exploration Tools
Since 2018, we've designed and refined multiple applications, each addressing different aspects of the exploration workflow.
Fluid DataNavigation
Intuitive interfaces for navigating subsurface data. Seamless transitions between seismic, well log, and geological model views with fluid interaction patterns.
CollaborativeInterpretation
Multi-user workspace with fluid workflows. Real-time collaboration, version control, and annotation systems designed for distributed geoscience teams.
Digital FieldOperations
Production digitization platform with fluid mobile experiences. Transitioning field operations from paper-based workflows to intuitive digital-first processes.
MobileWorkbench
Field worker mobile solution for greenfield LNG plant operations: gloved use, intermittent connectivity, safety-critical workflows.
AI ExplorationAgent
Next-generation agentic experience design. Human-AI collaboration for geological interpretation and decision support.
DigitalSystem
Unified component library ensuring visual and interaction consistency across the entire exploration tool portfolio.
User Research
Understanding Work in Context
Great enterprise software comes from understanding how people actually work, not how we assume they work. We've spent time on platforms, in control rooms, and alongside interpreters to inform every design decision.
Results
Measurable Impact at Scale
Our partnership has delivered tangible improvements across Shell's exploration operations, from individual productivity gains to portfolio-wide efficiency.
100
YearPartnership
40%
Faster TaskCompletion
60%
Fewer DataEntry Errors
“Before, our interpreters spent more time fighting the software than interpreting data. Now they can focus on the geology. Daito understood our domain deeply enough to challenge our assumptions. That's rare in a design partner.”
Senior Digital Product Manager
Shell Exploration
Capabilities Applied
Full-Spectrum Enterprise UX
This engagement spans the full range of our capabilities, from foundational research to production design systems. We've grown alongside Shell's digital transformation, adapting our approach as needs evolved. What started as single projects has become an embedded partnership, with Daito serving as the trusted UX partner for Shell's exploration technology portfolio.
Services Applied
- →Field Research
- →UX Design
- →UI Design
Ready to transform your Enterprise software?
Let's discuss how research-driven design can improve your team's productivity and decision-making.