Mobile & Tablet Product Design
I’ve been involved in the design of several mobile and tablet products over the course of my career. Let’s take a quick look at some notable projects!
Twisty Hollow
COMPANY Arkadium
ROLE Game Designer
TEAM SIZE 1 designer (me), 1 artist, 1 engineer, 1 producer
RESPONSIBILITIES product design, game design
USER GOAL Have fun in an app that is intuitive to use and easy to understand.
BUSINESS GOAL Build a proof of concept of an innovative idea in 48 hours.
IDEA GENERATION
Early in the process, I pitched some mixes of player actions to the team in a brainstorm. Sometimes the secret to innovation is combining a few successful concepts in a brand new way!
ITERATION
With just 48 hours to work, there wasn’t much time to overthink things!
My earliest sketches had horizontal rows. Then we tried a circular screen because that wasn’t something any of us had seen on mobile before.
DEVELOPMENT
The proof of concept was a success! We were awarded “Most Fun” when the company hackathon concluded, and it was selected for further development. The released app was a beautiful and polished evolution of our original!
FEEDBACK LOOPS
The core loop and progression loop that I designed for our proof of concept remained intact as Twisty Hollow grew beyond the prototype stage. This is how and why people stay engaged with the app over time.
RESULTS
Twisty Hollow found a fan base! It went on to be featured in the iPhone App Store as an App of the Week. It was also featured with a download code available at Starbucks registers nationwide!
The Cat in the Hat Builds That
COMPANY Penguin Random House
ROLE Creative Producer
TEAM SIZE 2 designers, 2 artists, 3 engineers
RESPONSIBILITIES product design, project & stakeholder management
TOP USER GOAL Kids want an app that is fun and engaging. It should provide the right amount of challenge to stay interesting, but should be easy to understand and use.
TOP BUSINESS GOAL Teaching learners that scientists aren’t just people in labcoats. They are scientists whenever they do science! This learner mindset is key to having a can-do attitude when studying science in their future academic career.
KEY FEATURE ONE – ADAPTING TO THE LEARNER’S PACE
Learners are given harder levels if they’re progressing quickly, or given similar or easier levels if they demonstrate the need for more practice.
KEY FEATURE TWO – AN ENGAGING LOOP
There’s always something new to explore in The Cat in the Hat Builds That. With 5 robust mini games, the learner can go deeper on an activity, or switch to something different. Unlocking science tools makes them available for free play and exploration, too!
RESULTS The Cat in the Hat Builds That was a terrific success! It launched in the iOS and Android App Stores in March 2018. In November 2019, an independent research study by Education Development Center found the app has a positive effect on preschooler's knowledge of physical science and their ability to engage with science and engineering practices.
AWARDS The Cat in the Hat Builds That won a Webby Award, and was nominated for the Games For Change Award.
Microsoft Jigsaw
COMPANY Arkadium CLIENT Microsoft
ROLE Design Lead, Product Owner
TEAM SIZE 1 designer (me), 1 artist, 2 engineers
RESPONSIBILITIES product design, UX, interaction design
TOP USER GOAL Jigsaw puzzle fans want a tablet app that lets them use the same strategies they use when putting a real puzzle together on the kitchen table.
TOP BUSINESS GOAL Premiere a best-in-class jigsaw puzzle tablet app that follows Microsoft’s “Metro” Design Language.
KEY FEATURE ONE
Drawers like the ‘Yellow pieces” box shown here allow users to sort pieces exactly how they might do with the box top of a physical puzzle in the real world.
KEY FEATURE TWO “Metro” menu design makes Microsoft Jigsaw feel like a native Microsoft app.
RESULTS Microsoft Jigsaw currently has a score of 4.2 out of 5 stars with 33.8k ratings on the app store!