CREATIVE DIRECTION / IA / DESIGN

THE CHALLENGE
Extend service beyond karaoke. Gain relevance among millennial audience. 

THE APPROACH
Focus on talent discovery and complete redesign reflecting current trends. 

MY ROLE
I led the complete design of StarMaker apps for iOS and Android platforms June - September 2015.
Up until March 2016, I led efforts to evolve the offerings and address customer pain‐points related to privacy, engagement and retention.

IDEATION PROCESS
I partnered with VPs of Product and Engineering to uncover insights and translate concepts into features that address users behaviors and motivations. 

FROM INSIGHTS TO CONCLUSIONS
1. Fulfill the premise of being "the path to stardom" for users seeking exposure and recognition:
- WATCH section to feature best video content from our users
- EXCLUSIVE PROMOTIONS & CONTESTS with multi-tiered prizes ranging from appearing in a video or a recording session with a known pop star
- PARTNERSHIPS with American Idol, The Voice, America's Got Talent to offer contest winners ability to get into blind auditions. 
- SOCIAL FEATURES to build community (likes, follow, sharing)
- STARMAKER'S ORIGINALS section promoting our top talent and their stories

2. Retain and grow the less talented/fame-driven user group
- CONTENT TAGGING/SEARCH - quick access to easy song collections
- DIVERSIFICATION OF VIDEO CONTENT - feature fun, interesting, unique users along with the very talented ones
- AUDIO/VIDEO FX - provide fun & professional video and voice filters to help users obscure themselves or elevate their performance. 
- PRIVACY CONCERNS - to combat fear, intimidation ensure users feel in control of their video content with clearly marked and easily accessible privacy settings.

EXPERIENCE STRATEGY & VISION
I created frameworks and prototypes (white boarding sessions and sketches) to share the vision, design principles and content strategy to evangelize ideas, gain alignment and drive decision making.

PLANNING & SCOPE DEFINITION
I worked closely with VP of Product and two co-founders to define the product and prioritize features based on business goals and users’ objectives for launch and beyond.

OVERSIGHT & COORDINATION
I designed across and collaborated with several platform engineers to translate product features for each platform context.

DESIGN EXECUTION
I designed for iOS and Android (phones and tablets). I executed wireframes, prototypes and design specs.

LEADERSHIP
I designed up and presented works to gain consensus from executives, advisors and many other engineering teams throughout the project lifecycle.

THE OUTCOME
DESIGN REFRESH
New esthetic aligned with current trends and appropriated for HIG and Material Design contexts. Scalable structure, clear navigation system - useful, intuitive and delightful UX leading to a feature in Essentials collection by the AppStore and “One of the Best New Apps” on GooglePlay. 

TALENT DISCOVERY
The new app offers plenty of opportunities for content consumption along with robust tools for creating high quality music video content. Engagement spiked due to new social features and contests focused on talent search with rewards such as professional video shoots, recording sessions and live performances with pop stars. Partnerships and advertising opportunities with The Voice, American Idol, Universal Pictures, Disney and more.