2011 - 2014  Nokia & Microsoft

Key member of the team responsible for setting the direction on how to create differentiating experiences for Lumia Windows Phones. Later, lead designer for various Lumia Windows Phone and Lumia tablet experiences, including Nokia Storyteller, Creative Studio, Ringtone Maker, and Nokia Counters.

When Nokia first introduced the Windows Phone Lumia 800, our primary concern was to get the product out to consumers as quickly as possible after the new strategy was announced. Back then, it was critical to support engineering to ensure that differentiation needs and carrier requirements for markets such as China could be met. For the next Lumias, my team and I started focusing primarily on imaging experiences. The task was simple but challenging: Understand how people capture and consume photos with their mobile devices and identify areas where improvements or future disruptions can be made. Once I moved on to Microsoft in San Diego, I became part of a team designing casual productivity concepts for Surface tablets.

It was an exciting journey to bring Windows Phone to larger markets. Introducing an alternative option to a smartphone market heavily dominated by two platforms was not an easy task, and I am proud that we managed to create a strong brand for Lumia phones. Having experienced the transformation Nokia underwent as a company after the announcement of the Windows Phone strategy has not only taught me a great deal about design and product development but also about improving methods of working in a rapidly changing work environment.

My favorite Lumia project was Nokia Storyteller, which you can read about here. Below, you can find some other project examples.

Ringtone Maker

Ringtone Maker can transform the songs users have stored on their Lumia into workable ringtones.

After the user has selected a song, it's time to choose which part of the song will be used, as well as the length of the ringtone. I am very happy with the novel solution that allows trimming the length by dragging the timeline handle, while scrolling horizontally allows the user to pick the part of the song they want to use. This interaction was patented by me and my team members.

Lumia Creative Studio

Creative Studio is a Nokia Windows Phone application with extensive image editing features. I served as the lead designer for an updated version of the app. Though my initial brief was to add just one feature, I ended up conceptualizing a design that not only enhanced the existing UI flow but also introduced three new editing features:

• Color pop: This feature detects the dominant colors in a photo, allowing users to color a specific element in the photo with a simple tap, while the rest remains in black and white.
  
• Blur: This feature enables users to easily add depth to the background of their photos.
• Collage: This feature creates beautiful grids of photos based on pre-made template.