Product Design
Lumosity (2020-2024)
Responsibilities
- Led end-to-end user research and usability analysis
- Developed data-driven user personas
- Low and high-fidelity prototypes
- Established scalable design systems
- Executed visual and interaction designs
- Conducted iterative user testing and quality assurance
User-Centered Research Process
By 2020, Lumosity's decade-old mobile app infrastructure was limiting our ability to implement user-centered improvements. This technical constraint presented an opportunity to reimagine the entire user experience through the lens of accumulated user insights and modern design principles.
The creation process truly begins in the research phase. By the end of 2019, I had become the sole product designer at Lumosity. It was around this time that I initiated a comprehensive research phase to ensure our redesign decisions were rooted in user empathy:
Discovery & Analysis
- Conducted an extensive audit of over 30 past user research documents spanning 2011-2019
- Synthesized insights from surveys, user interviews, and competitive analysis
- Identified key user pain points and opportunity areas
Persona Development
To improve stakeholder adoption and usability of our personas, I introduced some useful elements:
- Persona "stats" for quick understanding of user motivations
- Preference indicators showing likes, dislikes, and pain points
- Direct correlation between user needs and business metrics
Design Evolution
Our iterative design process began with extensive ideation sessions where we created rapid prototypes to test assumptions and challenged existing mental models.
One interesting exploration was the development of a novel "overworld" game progression system, complete with reward mechanisms to enhance user engagement and integrated gamification elements to strengthen user motivation.
Design System
The systematic design approach started with the creation of a comprehensive design system. Built meticulously atop a foundation of typography and color (WCAG tested), this included creating a modular component library for rapid prototyping and implementing a consistent visual language across all touchpoints. This foundation proved crucial for maintaining design consistency while allowing for rapid iteration and testing.
FInal Prototype
The user experience enhancements centered around creating a more engaging and rewarding journey for our users. We implemented an achievement-based progression system, featuring collectible badges and an experience point system for sustained engagement. The streak-based reward mechanisms were carefully designed to reinforce daily usage patterns while providing meaningful feedback to users.
In terms of visual design evolution, we maintained brand consistency while modernizing the aesthetic through refined typography and weight hierarchies. The enhanced white space utilization improved readability, while our strengthened visual hierarchy through careful color application made the interface more intuitive and engaging.
Outcome
The redesign resulted in a more intuitive, engaging, and scalable product that better served user needs while maintaining the core Lumosity experience. The new design system and prototyping framework significantly improved development efficiency and cross-functional collaboration, setting a new standard for how we approach product evolution at Lumosity.
More artifacts from this project
Custom interface design for an event analyzer tool our Core Services team was developing.
Figma file for a complex section of the app.
Research doc for leadership comparing and contrasting common login & password patterns.
Prototype for an Achievements feature.