UX & Information Architecture — three directions to choose from
A Loop carries a lot: the occasion, the timing, the place, who’s allowed in, what tools it opens with, and the welcome your guests read first. The craft is deciding what a host must answer now, what can wait, and how to reveal the rest without it ever feeling like paperwork. Here are three ways to shape that moment.
All three directions below draw from this same inventory — mapped to the real CreateLoopReq contract. They differ only in how much is on screen at once and in what order. Dots mark when each field is answered.
One luminous surface you fill top-to-bottom, the way you’d actually write an invite. Required fields lead; everything else waits behind calm, optional disclosure rows. Nothing is hidden in tabs — you just keep going, or stop early.
Start with a name and a date. Add the rest whenever you like.
The full set of configs, chunked into four calm steps so a host never sees more than one decision-cluster at once. A visible spine of progress carries them to a final review before anything is created.
A power tool. Every config on one dark screen, nothing hidden, a live invite preview updating as you type, and a “/” palette to jump to any field. Built for the host who runs a Loop every week and wants zero ceremony.
The preview is the deliverable — the form is just the levers. Every keystroke on the left redraws the invitation on the right, so hosts design the guest’s first impression directly.
They aren’t cosmetic variants — each answers “how much complexity does a host meet at once?” differently. Pick by who your median host is.
| The Invitation01 · scroll | The Guided Steps02 · wizard | The Command Console03 · power | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental model | Writing an invite | Being walked through it | Operating a control desk |
| Cognitive load | Low–med — grows as you expand | Lowest — one cluster at a time | High — everything visible |
| Speed, minimal Loop | ~15s, one surface | ~40s, four steps | ~8s, keyboard |
| Speed, full config | Med — scroll + expand | Slow — every step | Fast — all in reach |
| Mobile fit | Good — gets tall | Excellent — thumb-sized steps | Weakest — stacks, loses preview |
| Error recovery | Inline, edit anytime | Review step before commit | Live preview catches it early |
| Shows all configs? | Behind 3 disclosures | Across steps 3–4 | All at once |
| Best median host | Casual, occasional | Nervous first-timer | Frequent, confident |
| Brand feel | Warmest, most Loop | Reassuring, safe | Sharp, pro |
A pragmatic route many products land on: ship Direction 01 as the default for its warmth and low floor, borrow the Guided Review step for confidence, and offer the Console as a “⌘K power create” for repeat hosts. The three aren’t mutually exclusive — they’re a spectrum you can grow along.
The surfaces every direction shares — rendered here so you can see how the hard configs feel, with the real contract enums behind each.
Four levels, most-private first. Widen it any time from settings.
All three on by default. Toggle any off — turn on later without losing anything.
Seven layouts, five card finishes. Set at creation in the Console, or in wall settings after.
Little cards that answer questions before guests ask. Seven kinds.
Issued after creation. Choose what a link-holder can do, and cap the seats.
One of three shapes — the input adapts to the kind you pick.