Making Waves in the Shipping Industry
Satellite and remote connectivity provider offering communication solutions for land and maritime sectors.
Context
Uncharted Waters
When I joined AST Networks, the company was taking its first step into in-house product development.
The mission was to create a smarter way to manage internet connectivity at sea. The result was Integra Edge. A first-of-its-kind system acting like a smart router for vessels. It automatically switched between satellite, 3G/4G, and Wi-Fi, while giving crews control over cost, bandwidth, and content.
For AST, this marked a shift from reseller to innovator. For me, it was the opportunity to design everything from scratch. Software UI, on-device LCD screens, and a scalable design system to support both.
Process
Full Steam Ahead
The work covered both onboard and cloud-based experiences, each with very different constraints.
Design decisions were informed by research into maritime environments, where clarity and speed matter under pressure. Interfaces for captains and crew focused on simple control, while shore-side tools prioritised visibility and oversight.
Alongside the core UI work, a Material Design–based system was created to ensure consistency across software and LCD interfaces, including night mode variants for low-light cabins. Close collaboration with engineers ensured designs matched real-world device capabilities.
"We can finally see exactly where data is going and stop unnecessary usage before it costs us a fortune."
— Fleet Operations Manager
- Built a colour system from the brand’s core palette
- Selected fonts and defined accessible type scales
- Designed a responsive App Bar for alerts and account access
- Created a full navigation drawer in the open state
- Designed a collapsed drawer to maximise screen space
- Built a colour system from the brand’s core palette
- Selected fonts and defined accessible type scales
- Designed a responsive App Bar for alerts and account access
- Created a full navigation drawer in the open state
- Designed a collapsed drawer to maximise screen space
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Solution
Ahead of the Tide
The finished product balanced performance with clarity, delivering a professional system that worked reliably in demanding maritime environments.
Key capabilities included:
- Automatic network switching across VSAT, L-band, 3G/4G, and Wi-Fi
- Application-level visibility and control via See, See+, and Control Lite services
- Security and access management using firewalls, VLANs, and captive portals
- A consistent, Material-inspired UI across software and LCD interfaces
- Fleet-wide monitoring and control through Integra Edge Cloud
The result was a modern, scalable platform that supported both onboard crews and shore-side operators.
"The clarity of the LCD visuals made it so much easier for the crew to manage connections — it’s like night and day compared to our old system."
— Captain Tom H., Commercial Vessel
- Customisable dashboard shows network traffic at a glance
- Quick-access navigation keeps essential tools within reach
- Notifications drawer surfaces key updates at a glance
- Network maps make complex setups easy to understand
- Comprehensive analysis tools reveal detailed traffic and usage insights
- Simple setup flows make creating virtual networks effortless
- Form summaries help confirm and edit details with confidence
- Interactive data filters let users drill down into exactly what matters
- Thoughtful empty states ensure clarity even when data isn’t available
- Customisable dashboard shows network traffic at a glance
- Quick-access navigation keeps essential tools within reach
- Notifications drawer surfaces key updates at a glance
- Network maps make complex setups easy to understand
- Comprehensive analysis tools reveal detailed traffic and usage insights
- Simple setup flows make creating virtual networks effortless
- Form summaries help confirm and edit details with confidence
- Interactive data filters let users drill down into exactly what matters
- Thoughtful empty states ensure clarity even when data isn’t available
Impact
Plain Sailing
Integra Edge became AST’s flagship product and a clear signal of their shift into in-house innovation.
The impact included:
- Strong customer and industry reception, with the UI praised for clarity and professionalism
- A scalable design system that supported future product development
- Increased trust in AST’s design capability, leading to continued collaboration on offshore wind turbine monitoring systems
"Jon’s work has set a new standard for us — we now know our designs are future-proof and easy for anyone to use."
— Product Director, AST Networks
Reflection
We Really Rocked the Boat!
Designing Integra Edge was one of the most exciting projects of my career. I had the freedom to shape digital interfaces and design systems for a product with no direct competitors.
It reinforced the value of understanding the user’s environment, balancing professional polish with real-world usability, and creating a visual language built to scale.
Integra Edge wasn’t just AST’s first product. It was a turning point for the company, and for my own design journey.