Designing   a   Scalable  API   Ecosystem

Helping developers, businesses and partners discover, understand and integrate telecom APIs.

Telecom APIs enable powerful network capabilities, but discovering, understanding and integrating them requires navigating large amounts of technical information.

Open Gateway needed an experience that could support developers, businesses and partners without overwhelming them with technical complexity.

The challenge wasn't reducing functionality—it was reducing complexity.

UNDERSTANDING THE USERS

THE CHALLENGE

DEVELOPERS

  • Discover APIs

  • Read documentation

  • Integrate

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

Before designing the experience, we mapped the information we needed to offer and identified the main challenges we had to solve.

Our goal: Organize complex telecom capabilities in a clear, intuitive and scalable way for different types of users.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Before designing interfaces, we restructured the platform's information architecture to create a clearer mental model for users.

The goal was to organize content around user goals rather than technical complexity, making it easier to discover APIs, understand their value and navigate the platform with confidence.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

The final experience was shaped by a small set of principles that guided every design decision across the platform.

REFLECTION

Designing Open Gateway reinforced that the biggest UX challenges don't always come from creating new interfaces, but from making complex systems understandable.

Throughout the project, the focus wasn't on reducing functionality, but on reducing complexity.

UNDERSTANDING THE PRODUCT

Open Gateway is Telefónica's API marketplace that enables developers and businesses to discover, understand and integrate standardized telecom network APIs.

The platform centralizes API documentation, use cases and technical resources into a single ecosystem, making advanced network capabilities more accessible.

  • API Marketplace for telecom network capabilities.

  • Developers, businesses and technology partners.

  • Simplify the discovery and adoption of telecom APIs.

OPEN GATEWAY

BUSINESS

  • Explore use cases

  • Understand value

WIREFRAMES & EXPLORATION

With the information architecture and user flows defined, I explored multiple layout directions to validate hierarchy, content prioritization and navigation patterns before moving into high-fidelity designs.

This iterative phase helped identify the most effective way to balance technical documentation, API discovery and business-focused content.

PARTNERS

  • Collaborate

  • Read documentation

  • Build solutions

Initial information architecture

FINAL DESIGN

The final experience transforms a complex API ecosystem into a structured and intuitive platform that supports both technical and business users.

By combining a clear information hierarchy, task-oriented navigation and consistent UI patterns, the platform makes it easier to discover APIs, understand their capabilities and move confidently towards integration.

DEVELOPER-FIRST NAVIGATION

The platform prioritizes technical workflows, helping developers move from discovery to integration with minimal friction.

USER FLOWS

Once the information architecture was defined, we mapped the key user journeys to ensure every type of user could reach their goal with minimal friction.

Instead of designing around pages, we designed around tasks—helping users discover APIs, understand their value and access the resources needed to integrate them.

WHAT WORKED WELL

✔ Clearer information architecture.

✔ Better separation between business and developer journeys.

✔ Scalable content structure.

✔ Consistent UI patterns.

CHALLENGES

✔ Balancing technical depth with accessibility.

✔ Designing for users with different levels of expertise.

✔ Supporting future APIs without increasing complexity.

NEXT STEPS

• Conduct usability testing with developers.

• Measure API discoverability.

• Optimize onboarding flows.

• Personalize content based on user type.

• Validate search behaviour through analytics.

PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE

Content is layered to reveal complexity gradually, making the experience approachable without limiting advanced users.

The structure was designed to accommodate new APIs, industries and documentation without increasing complexity.

CONSISTENCY

SCALABLE CONTENT ARCHITECTURE

Shared UI patterns and predictable interactions create a coherent experience across the entire ecosystem.