As a UX designer, I strive to create products that engage the most users in the gentlest way. Research, understanding, and teamwork form the basis of my design methods and the case studies below showcase work in which I utilize my greatest strengths and skills.
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Case Studies
PÂTISSERIE AIMÉE:
DESIGNING AN APP AND RESPONSIVE WEBSITE FOR A PASTRY SHOP
ROLES:
UX Researcher
UX Design
UI Visual Design
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Pastry Shop Customers
Any project of this scale begins with extensive research. To begin with, a competitive audit was performed to gain insight on similar user experiences.
Low-fidelity wireframes reflect the basic app flow and results of the initial research.
Low-fidelity wireframes reflect the basic app flow and results of the initial research.
Q:
"What is the first step to creating an enjoyable experience?"
Research & Testing.
After a moderated participant study, insights were made about the low-fidelity prototype flow and how it could be used to improve the final product.
After research, mockups were built to reflect new insights and lay groundwork for the high-fidelity prototype.
Q:
"How do you create a similar experience across devices?"
Simple, responsive elements.
A responsive website was developed based on the mobile app's high-fidelity prototype.
Below are images from the final, high-fidelity prototype.
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My confidence in reading users' emotions grew significantly during this project's testing phase. In later iterations and future designs, I hope to get a better read on
users during the testing phase, which I consider the most important part of the research stages. In addition, organizing the facets of a competitive audit gave me greater insight on the subtleties of similar products' design. An exercise I'm proud to include in my repertoire.
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SNOWPAINTERS:
UX RESEARCH & UI PROGRAMMING FOR A RACING GAME
Snowpainters is a quirky kart racer developed in Unreal Engine 4 over 3 months with a team at SMU Guildhall.
ROLES:
UX Design
UI Programming
UI Visual Design
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Kart Racing Enthusiasts
Q:
"HOW DO YOU DEVELOP UX FLOW FOR A GAME SUB-SYSTEM?"
PROTOTYPING.
A project of this scale required extensive planning, risk management and task delegation. In response, I created a UX document to lay out the user flow.
The prototype was created in Adobe XD, iterated upon continuously and used as a reference when usability concerns came into question.
Q:
"Where do you start with UI coding?"
Modifiable, hierarchical assets.
Once a suitable direction was established, I began creating a user interface using Unreal's blueprint system—essentially a block-style code builder.
Buttons were implemented with a modular inheritance system designed to keep the look and flow consistent.
The UI reflected information integral to game design and gave the feedback necessary to ensure the player would have the smoothest control over their racer.
Though not responsible for the artwork and color scheme, I created animations to entice the player and ease screen transitions.
UI layouts & functionality were implemented with Unreal Motion Graphics, Unreal's UI development tool.
Q:
"How can up to 4 players navigate and customize their racers without confusion?"
Simple, readable elements.
Players were able to opt-in at the selection screen, eliminating the need to define a set number of participants at the start of the game.
Decisions were made along with the art department about how individual elements would impact screen real estate and player focus—particularly during multiplayer mode.
Working with a studio gave me multiple opportunities to playtest and reconfigure my UX design and code, which I'm very grateful for and will take advantage of in future team scenarios. Practical application of UX principles varies by app, and creating game UX can make or break a player's experience with a product that is intended to be used for a longer period during apps. Is there a term for a game churn rate? Always searching for answers during my next project.
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