As Head of Experience Design:
‣ Led UX/UI for 9 shipped games, including Zynga Poker (“App of the Year”)
‣ Established Zynga’s Experience Design organization
‣ Managed & led the 42-person creative org on the Mid-Core team
‣ Conceived and designed features that exceeded $500M in revenue
Summary
Zynga wanted a fresh take on the 'Ville' franchise, so we crafted a unique IP set on a remote tropical island. With a lean team of under 20 people and just twelve months to deliver, we focused on quality and efficiency.
Download the game here
Goals
‣ Achieve 30k daily revenue
‣ 12 month ship deadline
‣ Develop a new UI design system using minimized graphics in order to keep the memory footprint small
Process
User Research
Defined our users and tested prototypes every 2 weeks, validating UX gestures and writing, UI visual design, and mental models.
Design
I experimented with using just a few shapes for the entirety of the UI and dynamically coloring them in Unity, which resulted in massive memory savings. This also greatly increased our speed in delivering prototypes and final UI, since we did not have to manage a large library of assets.
Results
‣ We shipped 2 months early, a rarity in gaming.
‣ Zynga’s 2nd most successful launch of 10 games (2016)
‣ Exceeded revenue targets by 25%
‣ 4.5+ rating on the App Store
‣ 2nd most popular farming game on iOS
Summary
My first task at Zynga was to overhaul the outdated Zynga Poker Texas Hold’em game, a buggy mobile version of the world’s most popular web poker game.
Goals
Redesign the existing app with a refreshed visual style, while revamping the UX, adding new features, and improving key metrics.
(Unfortunately, I no longer have the original target metrics.)
We set a goal of launching in six months.
Process
Research
Since we had existing user data and were working on a redesign, we focused our research on analyzing App Store reviews and relying on our instincts. As a passionate poker player (both in live games and Zynga Poker) I had many ideas for improvements.
Design
With a small team of one designer, one animator, and one production artist, we worked very closely with engineering and product to create wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
I introduced a new process for the mobile division, which was for the art team to create wireframes, as opposed to the PMs handing off their wireframes.
Contributions
‣ I created a new visual design that modernized the app.
‣ Co-created a patented UX pattern that was copied by many other apps, including WSOP (World Series of Poker)
‣ DAU grew from 250k to 1M within a year after launch.
Results
‣ UK's top-grossing app of the year.
‣ Increased App Store ratings from 3.5 > 4.5
‣ Concurrent top grossing app on both App Store & Google Play Store
Other contributions
‣ I was asked to co-lead the Zynga studio in Brighton, UK, but their game was canceled before I could relocate.
‣ War of the Fallen mobile game
I led the art and UI/UX direction for this highly-rated collectable card game, overseeing a team in San Francisco as well as Beijing, China. View game trailer
‣ FarmVille 3 mobile game (canceled)
I led the UI/UX on a new FarmVille game for two years. We had a thrilling "Country Fair" feature where you competed to earn the most money in a given time.
‣ CityVille X mobile game (canceled)
I led the UI/UX for a year on a new game that allowed players to draw roads, and the buildings would adapt their lots size based on road angles. A first for mobile gaming.
‣ I won a Zynga game pitch, and was the senior creative director for a Video Poker mobile game (canceled).
‣ Art and/or creative director for other games:
Consulted on a many additional titles
