Softlight

About

Softlight is a design tool that helps product teams, designers, and developers solve design problems faster using AI. The Chrome extension is the primary way users capture design problems from any webpage they're viewing, enabling them to describe issues using voice input while the extension automatically captures screenshots of their interactions.

### What Softlight Does

Softlight bridges the gap between identifying a design problem and generating potential solutions. Instead of spending hours sketching wireframes, creating mockups, or iterating through design tools, users can simply describe what's wrong with an existing experience—and our AI agents will generate design alternatives that address the problem.

The Chrome extension serves as the capture mechanism. Users can be on any website—their own product, a competitor's site, an inspiration piece, or an internal tool—and quickly record a design problem by speaking aloud while interacting with the page. The extension captures screenshots at key moments (when the user clicks, scrolls, or interacts with elements) and transcribes their voice explanation. Together, these screenshots and the voice transcript form a complete "design problem" that is sent to our servers for processing.

### How It Works

**Step 1: Activate the Extension**

When a user clicks the Softlight extension icon in their browser toolbar, an overlay appears on top of the current webpage. This overlay is the primary interaction surface—it doesn't navigate away from the page or open a new tab. The user stays exactly where they are, looking at the design they want to improve.

**Step 2: Describe the Problem with Voice**

The overlay displays recording controls. When the user starts recording, they can speak naturally about what they see:

- "This checkout flow is confusing—users don't know if they're supposed to enter their address before or after payment info."
- "The navigation menu is too cluttered. There are too many options and users can't find the settings page."
- "This dashboard shows too much data at once. We need to prioritize the most important metrics."

While speaking, the user can interact with the page normally—clicking buttons, scrolling, hovering over elements, navigating between pages. The extension captures screenshots automatically whenever significant interactions occur, creating a visual timeline that accompanies the voice explanation.

**Step 3: Submit and Generate Solutions**

When the user finishes recording, the design problem (screenshots + voice transcript) is uploaded to Softlight's servers. Our AI agents analyze the problem and begin generating design solutions. These solutions might include:

- Alternative layouts for the problematic screen
- Simplified navigation structures
- Reorganized information hierarchies
- New component designs
- Complete flow redesigns

**Step 4: Review Generated Work**

Users can review the AI-generated design work in two places:

1. **The Side Panel**: Accessible from the extension, the side panel shows the user's history of captured design problems and the corresponding generated design work. Users can browse through past problems, see what solutions were generated, and access their work at any time.

2. **The Softlight Web App**: For more detailed design work, collaboration features, and export options, users can visit the Softlight web application at softlight.com.

### Key Features

**Voice-First Problem Description**: We chose voice input over text for a reason: when you're looking at a design problem, you want to describe what you see naturally, not type while trying to remember what bothered you. Voice lets users point at elements, demonstrate interactions, and explain their thinking in real-time.

**Automatic Screenshot Capture**: Users don't need to manually take screenshots or annotate them. The extension intelligently captures the viewport whenever the user interacts with the page during a recording session.

**Works on Any Website**: Design problems can appear anywhere. Maybe you're auditing your own product, researching competitors, or using an internal tool that needs a redesign. Softlight works on any webpage.

**Persistent History**: All captured design problems and generated work are saved and accessible through the side panel. Users can revisit past problems, compare different solutions, and track their design thinking over time.

**Non-Intrusive Overlay**: The extension overlay appears on top of the current page without navigating away or disrupting the user's context. The overlay can be dismissed at any time.

### Use Cases

- **Product Teams Identifying UX Issues**: Capture problems immediately during user research, competitive analysis, or internal audits with full context.
- **Designers Exploring Alternatives**: Describe a problem and receive AI-generated alternatives to accelerate ideation.
- **Developers Communicating Design Feedback**: Quickly capture usability issues and let the AI generate design suggestions.
- **Stakeholders Providing Concrete Feedback**: Describe what feels wrong and the AI translates that into actionable design alternatives.
- **Agencies and Consultants**: Quickly audit client websites and generate initial solution concepts.

### Privacy and Data Handling

**What We Capture**:
- Screenshots of the browser viewport during recording sessions
- Transcribed text from the user's spoken problem description

**What We Don't Capture**:
- We do not read, modify, or store cookies, passwords, form data, or any other sensitive page content
- We do not track browsing history or monitor pages when not actively recording
- We do not capture data unless the user explicitly initiates a recording session

**User Control**:
- The extension only activates when the user clicks the toolbar icon
- Recording only begins when the user explicitly starts it
- Users can stop recording and discard data at any time
- The overlay can be dismissed without submitting anything

### Technical Requirements

- Chrome Version 114 or later
- Internet connection for uploading problems and receiving solutions
- Microphone access for voice input

### About Softlight

Softlight is building the future of design tools—where describing a problem is all it takes to explore solutions. Our AI agents understand design principles, user experience best practices, and visual design fundamentals. They don't replace human designers; they augment them by handling the tedious work of generating alternatives so designers can focus on judgment, refinement, and the creative decisions that matter most.

For questions or support, visit softlight.com.