Convay Integrated Chat

In fast-paced team environments, scattered communication can slow down collaboration. To solve this, I helped design Convay’s Integrated Chat, a messaging system that brings together direct messages, group chats, and meeting-based conversations all in one place. By making communication instant, contextual, and accessible, we turned Convay into more than a meeting tool, into a fully connected collaboration platform.

CATEGORY:

Web Design,

Product Design

ROLE:

UX Designer,

UI Designer,

Interaction Designer

TOOLS:

Figma

Convay at a Glance

Convay is a video conferencing platform built for modern collaboration. Unlike traditional tools, it supports the full meeting lifecycle, from scheduling and hosting to AI-powered transcription, file storage, and post-meeting follow-ups.


Designed with scalability in mind, Convay now supports meetings with up to 10,000 participants and is trusted by governments and international organizations in over 46 countries.


Key features include:

  • High-quality video and audio conferencing

  • AI-based transcription and meeting summaries

  • Cloud storage for meeting files and chat logs

  • Real-time whiteboard, chat, and screen sharing

  • Enterprise-grade security with on-premise and cloud options


Convay brings everything into one platform to simplify meetings, improve productivity, and support high-stakes collaboration at scale.


Convay has been used in global events like SIDSSA 2025 and secured a €5M government contract through its scalable architecture and reliable UX.


Visit convay.com to learn more.

Feature Overview

Convay Integrated Chat was built to centralize communication across the platform. It supports three main categories:


  • Meeting Chat: Messages tied to a specific Convay meeting.

  • People: One-on-one direct messages.

  • Rooms: Group chats, both public and private.


Users can search, create, or join conversations, switch between chat types effortlessly, and even start an instant meeting from within any chat. With this feature, Convay moved closer to becoming an all-in-one collaboration space, bridging chat and video without switching platforms.

Problem Statement

Before Integrated Chat, Convay lacked a unified communication space. Users relied on external tools like WhatsApp or email to coordinate outside meetings, which led to scattered conversations, context loss, and frequent switching between platforms. Without a dedicated chat system, there was no easy way to continue discussions after meetings, share files securely, or bring teams together in real time.


As Convay grew, especially across government and enterprise sectors, there was a growing need for an intuitive, centralized chat solution that allowed seamless communication, before, during, and after meetings, all within the same platform.

My Role

As the UX Designer, I designed the entire experience for Convay's Integrated Chat feature—from user flow to final UI. I worked on:


  • Structuring chat categories (Meeting, People, Rooms) for clarity

  • Designing all chat interactions, including creating rooms, sending messages, and starting instant meetings

  • Building high-fidelity UI screens for group and personal chats

  • Collaborating with developers and PMs to align design with backend logic and feasibility

  • Refining UX through iterative feedback, especially around room settings, notification controls, and chat-to-meeting transitions


This was one of the most collaborative features I worked on, balancing design structure with flexibility to support how real teams communicate.

Design Goals

The core aim of this feature was to create a seamless messaging experience inside Convay that supported both real-time collaboration and quick context-switching between chat and meetings. My design goals were:


  • Clarity in Navigation: Organize chat spaces into intuitive categories, Meeting Chat, People, and Rooms, so users could find and manage conversations easily.

  • Flexible Communication: Allow users to create public and private group chats, send direct messages, and explore rooms for open discussions.

  • Instant Collaboration: Enable users to start meetings directly from chats with a single click, without disrupting conversation flow.

  • Granular Control: Offer users comprehensive chat settings like permissions, file sharing, and notifications, without overwhelming them.


These goals shaped every design decision, from icon placement to interaction hierarchy, ensuring the chat system felt familiar, fast, and built for team flow.

User Interface Designs

Landing on Chat App: The chat app opens with options for direct messaging, group chats, and meeting-specific chats. Users can click on a conversation to open it or use the search bar to locate specific chats, providing quick access to ongoing discussions.

Step 1: User lands on chat

Step 2: User clicks on a conversation

Step 3: User can search

Creating a New Room: Users can create a new room by clicking the "+" icon. Rooms can be either public, allowing anyone to join, or private, restricted to invited members only. Users can explore public rooms, search for specific rooms, and initiate a new group chat by filling in details like room name and privacy settings.

Step 1: User clicks on the '+' icon beside Group

Step 2: User clicks on the '+' icon beside Rooms

Step 3: User fills the boxes for private room and clicks 'Create Room’

Step 3.1: User fills the boxes for public room and clicks 'Create Room’

Step 3.2: User explores public rooms

Step 3.3: User can search to explore public rooms

Step 4: User creates a new private room successfully

Step 4.1: User creates a new public room successfully

Inside a Group Chat: Once in a group chat, users can invite others to join, search within the chat for specific messages, and access group information. Each member can engage in real-time conversations and view shared files for ongoing collaboration.

(User 1) Step 1: User is inside a newly created group

(User 1) Step 2: User can invite new people to the group

(User 2) Step 3: User 2 receives the invitation

(User 2) Step 4: User 2 joins the group and starts chatting

(User 1) Step 5: Users keeps chatting

(User 1) Step 6: User can search in chat

(User 1) Step 6.1: User can view group information

Exploring Multiple Options in a Group Chat: A dropdown menu provides options for managing the chat. Users can invite people, adjust notification settings, view existing participants, access shared files, and modify settings under categories such as General, Security & Privacy, Roles & Permissions, and Notifications. Additionally, users have the option to export the chat history.

Step 1: User is inside a group chat

Step 2: User opens the dropdown for more options

Step 3: User clicks on invite to invite people to the group chat

Step 3.1: User can change notification settings

Step 3.2: User clicks on people and view the existing people in chat

Step 3.3: User clicks on 'Files' and view the existing files in the chat (Not Uploaded Version)

Step 3.3.1: User clicks on 'Files' and view the existing files in the chat (Uploaded Version)

Step 3.4: User can change the Settings - General

Step 3.4.1: User can change the Settings - Security & Privacy

Step 3.4.2: User can change the Settings - Roles & Permissions

Step 3.4.3: User can change the Settings - Notifications

Step 3.5: User can Export Chat

Sending a Direct Message: Users can initiate a direct message by clicking the "+" icon beside People, searching for a contact, and sending an invite. Once the invitation is accepted, users can engage in one-on-one conversations.

(User 1) Step 1: User 1 clicks on the '+' icon beside People

(User 1) Step 2: User 1 types a name and clicks 'Send’

(User 1) Step 3: User 1 invites User 2 for direct message

(User 1) Step 4: User 1 sends a text to User 4

(User 2) Step 5: User 2 receives the invitation and accepts

(User 2) Step 6: User 2 joins the direct messaging

(User 1) Step 7: Users keep chatting

Exploring Multiple Options in a Personal Chat: Similar to group chat options, users in personal chats can access the dropdown menu to manage settings, view shared files, adjust notifications, and export the chat history.

Step 1: User is inside a personal chat

Step 2: User opens the dropdown for more options

Step 3: User can change notification settings

Step 3.1: User clicks on 'Files' and view the existing files in the chat (Not Uploaded Version)

Step 3.1.1: User clicks on 'Files' and view the existing files in the chat (Uploaded Version)

Step 3.2: User can change the Settings - General

Step 3.2.1: User can change the Settings - Security & Privacy

Step 3.2.2: User can change the Settings - Roles & Permissions

Step 3.2.3: User can change the Settings - Notifications

Step 3.3: User can Export Chat

Challenges and Solutions

  • Challenge: Navigating Multiple Chat Types

    Users were confused switching between meeting chats, direct messages, and group rooms.

    Solution: We created three distinct sections, Meeting Chat, People, and Rooms, to reduce friction. This separation helped users instantly recognize where to find each conversation.

  • Challenge: Balancing Simplicity in Room Creation

    Room setup risked overwhelming users with too many options.

    Solution: We designed a lightweight flow triggered by a “+” button. Users can choose between public and private rooms, set details, or explore existing ones, all in a single, compact interface.

  • Challenge: Managing Complex Chat Settings

    Users needed fine-grained control over privacy, notifications, and permissions.

    Solution: We implemented a drop-down menu in each chat with smart defaults and expandable sections like Roles & Permissions or Security & Privacy, allowing control without visual clutter.

  • Challenge: Seamless Meeting Transitions

    Users often wanted to switch from text to a call without losing conversation flow.

    Solution: We placed an “Instant Meeting” button within every chat. With one click, users are taken to a meeting room while keeping the chat context accessible.


    “It feels natural, just like chatting,
    then jumping on a quick call without switching apps.”
    — User from internal testing

Outcome and Impact

Improved Communication Flow
Users could now chat across meetings, private messages, and group rooms, all in one place, reducing the need for third-party tools.


Faster Collaboration
By integrating instant meetings within chat, teams transitioned from conversation to action seamlessly, helping them make decisions quicker and reduce delays.


Clearer Organization, Better Control
The categorized tabs and dropdown settings empowered users to manage conversations efficiently, contributing to a 25–30% estimated reduction in message clutter and lost context during usability testing.


User Engagement Boost
The addition of public and private rooms encouraged broader team discussions and informal interactions, reflected in internal feedback that users found the chat feature “complete enough to replace external messaging apps.”

Takeaways

Designing Convay’s Integrated Chat taught me how powerful structure can be in a communication system. By dividing conversations into Meeting Chats, People, and Rooms, we made a crowded interface feel simple—something users instinctively understood.


I also learned the value of designing for transitions. Whether users were jumping from chat to meeting or navigating through room settings, smooth flow mattered. Creating intuitive pathways helped keep the experience frictionless.


One of my favorite moments came when a teammate said, “This feels like Slack, but built right into Convay.” That feedback reminded me why we do what we do, not just to design screens, but to design clarity.


“I realized that good UX isn’t about adding more. It’s about making what’s already there work better, together.”


This project sharpened my skills in collaborative design, interface logic, and cross-team communication, and left me more confident in building tools that help people connect and collaborate with ease.