TrickPlay
What is TrickPlay? TrickPlay is an embedded software platform that enables developers to design, test and distribute multi-screen applications for digital televisions and tablet devices.
My Role: Design Director
The Challenges: Design a compelling development platform for a rapidly shifting Smart TV market. Design applications that demonstrate the platform's capabilities while being enjoyable stand alone apps. Design and specify development tools for platform, including SDK, developer web site and a visual editor. Create customized versions of UX for CE partners. Coordinate and support developers creating applications for platform (Frog, Hand Studio). Promote and evangelize the design benefits of the platform to potential partners.
TrickPlay Launcher on TV
The launcher is the starting point of the TrickPlay experience. It displays recenty used applications and allows users to enter various services. The concept was to keep the initial screen lightweight and display atop the currently viewed content. The launcher was also designed to be used as a touch-based UX on tablets. The touch areas are large and the interactions all function nearly identically to the TV remote control UX.TrickPlay App Shop on Tablet
The App Shop is also designed to be used on touch-based tablets. The touch areas are large and the interactions all function nearly identically to the TV remote control UX.TrickPlay App Shop on TV
The TrickPlay App Shop allows users to browse, purchase and download apps to your television.
On-Screen Keyboard
The on-screen keyboard (OSK) has always been a weak point for interactive television apps.
Most TV UIs opt for a modal keyboard that removes the user from the context of the action they're performing. For TrickPlay, I wanted to create a keyboard that could display in context on any application screen. The solution was a sliding OSK that could overlay or push aside the application screen. In addition the framework allows developers to easily create submission forms within the same UX.
Poker Dawgz
Multi-screen, Multi-player gaming
TV-based multiplayer Texas Hold 'Em game that supports up to six simultaneous players. Players bid and bluff via their smart phone or tablet. Game can be played in single player mode with a standard IR remote or via companion device app for multiplayer fun.
TrickPlay App Shop
App Detail Screen
The TrickPlay App Shop allows users to browse, purchase and download apps to your television.
Yahoo! Mobile Search
The Product: Large-scale global mobile search product (40+ countries) with millions of daily users. The product was available on a wide variety of mobile devices ranging from basic feature phones to high end smart phones.
My Role: Senior Design Manager/Lead Designer
The Challenge: Manage and participate in the ongoing design and improvement of the product. Promote our product across other product groups and to executives. Challenge a dominant competitor and encourage team to create a superior product. Work with engineering and product leads to define product road map.
The Outcome:Yahoo mobile search maintained a strong second position in the global mobile market. In some markets we surpassed Google in daily queries. We were first to market with many features such as voice input and the use of a federated search results model for mobile devices.Nokia Mobile Search Client
The Product: Web based search engine with voice input - a first of it's kind on this platform.
My Role: Senior Design Manager/Lead Designer
The Challenge: Each platform has specific requirements and limitations. Each application had to be custom created for that platform. Some platforms have a variety of screen resolutions and capabilities which require the creation of multiple sets of assets. Apps featured voice input, location awareness and search assistance. Worked with overseas development teams to develop the products.
The Outcome: The application was very popular in overseas markets and drives a significant amount of traffic to Yahoo search.Tablet Search Application
The Product: Code name FUJI - a search application that leveraged the depths of Yahoo! content into a visually rich search tool.
My Role: Senior Design Manager/Lead Designer
The Challenge: The goal was to create a customizable search experience that leveraged the large amount of content that Yahoo! offered in to an easy to use touch-based search tool. Easily customized the app could also save individual search elements in a graphical format. A virtual drawer allowed users to save content and displayed the saved content with always up to date information.
Android search application
The Product: Yahoo! Search Android application.
My Role: Senior Design Manager/Lead Designer
The Challenge: Bring Yahoo's federated mobile search product into the recently launched android platform. Partnership deals were struck with mobile carriers and custom versions were planned for these partners.
Yahoo! Connected TV
Designed user interaction framework for Connected TV - an interactive application platform for high definition televisions. Led design team through reviews of multiple design concepts and developed prototypes to test various approaches. Integrated insights found during user research. Resolved design impasses within team and across parent group.
My Role: Senior Interaction Designer
The Challenge: Develop a UX that enhanced the viewing experience with an easily understood user interface that could be quickly adopted by a consumer audience. The framework had to be simple for users to understand but extensible enough to allow developers to create compelling content offerings.
The Outcome: Yahoo Connected TV is integrated into offerings from major TV manufacturers such as Sony, Visio and Samsung and LG.Google Book Search
The Product: It's actually two products, the consumer facing UX to search and preview millions of books from libraries and publishers worldwide; the other a content management tool for publishers to upload and manage their publications.
My Role: Lead two major redesigns of the consumer facing product including the shift from a page-based design to an ajax single screen reader. Designed a library system for saving and referencing books and tools for book markup and reference. Designed several releases of the publisher content management tool.
The Challenge: Improve the reading and searching experience. Make tools easier for users to understand.
The Outcome: Oversaw three releases of the Book Search publisher management system, participation in the program more than tripled following the design changes.Windows Live for TV
The Product: A 10 foot UX running as part of Microsoft's Media Center that allowed users to engage with their social networks while viewing television.
My Role: Lead the interaction design for Microsoft's television-based social networking product. I worked directly with Microsoft development team and later with a design agency (AKQA) hired by Microsoft. Created a variety of proposals for product, oversaw initial builds of a prototype and supervised visual design. Presented designs to Microsoft executives and integrated user research findings from MS researchers.
The Challenge: Unify a variety of non-integrated web-based offerings into a cohesive television-based interactive environment. Wow that's a lot of hyphenated words.
The Outcome: Product was launched as an add-on for users of Microsoft Vista Windows Media Center.
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