Languu: AI translation and captioning suite

90days from first conversation to live site

5language tools in one product

11page types, one shared structure

10+internal rounds on the core screen, so the client didn't need them

01 · Why it matters

When words matter most, close enough isn’t

Languu helps people talk across 100+ languages in the places where getting it wrong costs something: hospitals, courtrooms, classrooms, government offices. A patient hearing a diagnosis. A family following a hearing. Behind every translation is someone who needs to understand, and someone who needs to be understood.

The product already had the power. It didn’t have the clarity.

02 · The starting point

It started with red ink

The brief arrived as the client’s own website, covered in notes. New tools to add. New sections to build. Compliance badges to move front and center. Every note was a good idea. All together, they were a lot.

The existing Languu website covered in the client's red and orange annotations — The original brief: the live site, marked up with requests

The goals

Make five tools feel like one productTranslate, Transcribe, AI Interpretation, Text to Speech, and Captioning should share one way of working.Learn one tool and the other four feel familiar on day one.
Put the words firstPeople come to translate, not to manage settings.Your text takes center stage. Languages and options step back until you need them.
Earn trust before the first clickHealthcare and legal buyers need proof their data is safe.HIPAA, CJIS, and SOC 2 credentials visible on every tool, not buried in a footer.
Serve clients and linguistsTwo very different jobs, one platform.One question at sign-in routes each person to the experience built for them.
Work anywhereInterpreters are rarely at a desk.Every tool designed for the phone, not just squeezed onto it.

Plan the house before picking the paint

Before any polish, every page got a blueprint. Eleven page types, from the five tools to pricing, a blog, and separate doors for clients and linguists, all built on the same skeleton: header, workspace, guidance rail, footer.

Eleven grayscale wireframes laid out in two rows, one for each page type — Eleven page types, one shared structure

03 · The core screen

Translation is one sentence: from this, to that

So the translate screen got the most attention, by far. It went through more than ten rounds behind the scenes, so the client never had to sit through them. Here are three.

Early wireframe with long, always-open language lists on both sides — 01 · Sketch. Every language on display, all the time

Refined design with real content, flags, and a human translation option, language lists still open — 02 · Refine. Real content, flags, a human translation option. Still crowded

Final design where languages collapse into two compact selectors above the text — 03 · Final. Languages fold into two quiet selectors. Your words get the room

Every round took something away. What's left is what matters: your words, and the language you need them in

04 · The system

Learn it once, use it everywhere

Every tool shares the same rhythm: pick your languages, add your content, get your result. Anyone who’s used Translate can walk into Captioning and already know their way around.

Translate tool with an uploaded audio file, waveform, and timestamped French translation — Audio comes back timestamped, line by line. Need certainty? Ask for a human review and pick a turnaround time

Transcribe tool showing the original speaker beside the translated text — Transcribe. The original and the translation, side by side

AI interpretation session listening live in English and Spanish — AI Interpretation. A live conversation that reads like one

Closed captions tool with video upload, export formats, and caption style options — Captioning. Industry-standard formats, styled your way

Text to speech tool with a text studio, translate toggle, and voice library — Text to Speech. Type it, translate it, hear it

05 · The details

The quiet moments count too

Nobody screenshots a loading spinner. But waiting, failing, and starting from zero are where trust is won or lost. Each moment got the same care as the happy path: plain words and a clear next step.

Empty state inviting an audio or video upload — Ready. One obvious place to start

Loading state that says Transcribing with a cancel button — Working. Say what's happening, and offer a way out

Error state that says the audio couldn't load with a re-upload button — Something went wrong. No blame, no jargon, one fix

Completed translation of an audio file — Done. The result, ready to copy or send for review

Two people, two front doors

Clients book linguists. Linguists take the jobs. One question at sign-in sends each person to the experience built for them.

Login screen beside a role selection screen for Client or Linguist — Sign in with the accounts people already use, then choose a role

Fits in a pocket

Interpreters work in hallways. Clients check in between meetings. Every tool works just as well on a phone.

Trust, up front

The brief asked for it, and it was right. For a hospital or a court, security isn’t a feature. It’s the deal. So the compliance credentials sit right under every tool, where buyers look first.

From the brief: a dark strip of trust badges, No data sold to third parties, HIPAA compliant, CJIS, AICPA SOC 2, Encrypted, 99%+ accuracy, Approved transcribers, 300+ languages — From the brief: the proof the client wanted front and center

06 · The result

Live, and loved

Ninety days after the first conversation, Languu launched with the new design, and it’s live today. Every tool, every in-between state, sign-in for both audiences, pricing, and a blog, delivered as one production-ready system, with a freelance contributor managed and scope changes absorbed along the way.

First conversation to live site

90 daysBrief, design, build support, and launch

Day 1Day 30Day 60Day 90, live

5 tools11 page typesEvery state2 audiencesPricing and blog

The client came to us for something modern, clean, and design-forward. What she got worked the way she pictured it, without rounds of back-and-forth to get there.

One of the most beautiful websites I've ever seen.

Her words, not ours. What she loved most: it’s clean, polished, and easy to understand. Which, for a product that exists to help people understand each other, is exactly the point.

Languu