Dropbox

My Role:
product design lead, Mobile Photos & Search

Led retrieval, organization, and editing improvements to Dropbox Photos, the native content experience on mobile. Added functionality to the Camera Uploads experience. Developed a mobile Search vision, led workshops, and partnered with desktop Search and back-end teams to be the first to parallelize product features across all platforms. Conducted countless hours of User Research, focusing on retrieval and rich media workflows.

Dropbox Mobile on the
App Store & Play Store

In my role as a Product Design Lead at Dropbox, I was primarily responsible for refining and enhancing the Dropbox Mobile Photos feature, improving the organization, retrieval, and editing of photos within the application. I also led the development of innovative features, such as the integration of facial recognition technology and enhanced search capabilities, all while navigating the complex landscape of shifting organizational focus and team structure.

Throughout this journey, I demonstrated my commitment to systems thinking, interaction design, service design, critical thinking, and collaboration. By effectively managing my team and resources, conducting extensive user research, and spearheading feature improvements, I strived to deliver an exceptional user experience. One of the standout achievements during this period was the creation of a unique mobile component library, which not only streamlined my design process but also became an essential resource for my colleagues.

While the journey was challenging with the company undergoing significant changes, my dedication to providing meaningful user experiences remained unwavering. This case study provides insights into how I navigated these challenges, showcasing my design philosophy, resilience, and commitment to collaboration and innovation.

Photos

I audited and improved several projects in-progress, optimizing user interaction and enhancing the overall user experience.

New Photos Tab

Multi-item Selection

Multi-select functionality, which was previously unavailable, improving file management within the app.

Zoom/Filter

Scrubber

Camera Uploads

I enhanced the Camera Uploads experience by improving the uploads experience with interface improvements, and allowing users to choose specific folders for automatic uploads, providing more control and customization.

Micro-animations

I was delighted to be able to do a few micro-animations to denote background processes using After Effects and Lottie.

Tidy-Up

Tidy-up Features: I created minor features to handle large files and duplicates, including under or overexposed photographs, effectively managing storage space..

Photo Editor

I created a basic photo editor feature while collaborating with an engineering apprentice, enhancing content management capabilities within the app.

Facial Recognition

In a bold endeavor to enhance the photo retrieval experience, I collaborated with the Machine Learning team to design a facial recognition engine. This effort required a deep understanding of the underlying machine learning models. I dove headfirst into this challenge, contributing my own images for testing purposes and becoming closely involved in fine-tuning the algorithm.

I designed flows that were user-friendly yet encompassed all possible interactions: enabling or disabling the feature, identifying individuals in a photo library, editing entries, and providing the option to delete any or all data if a user so desired. This aimed to ensure the users maintained control over their data while enjoying the benefits of facial recognition technology.

However, in the face of evolving privacy regulations and ethical considerations around facial recognition technology, our legal team advised a pause in the project. This decision, while disappointing given the work we had put into it, was made to ensure Dropbox continues to prioritize user privacy and complies with all relevant legal standards. It was a valuable reminder of the importance of navigating and aligning technology advancements with ethical and legal considerations, even in the pursuit of product innovation.

Search

I pioneered a comprehensive search vision, encompassing user research, competitor analysis, and extensive ideation workshops.

During the discovery and vision work, we also immediately got to work on several immediate improvements to the Search experience, namely surfacing the Search bar on Android, Helper-text experiments, and UI improvements.

I conducted a detailed competitor analysis. By examining the strengths and weaknesses of search functionalities in similar products, we were able to glean key insights that influenced our design decisions. This competitive audit provided a wider perspective and helped us define our own unique offering, focusing on areas that would differentiate us and add the most value for our users.

To ensure a diverse set of ideas and approaches, I organized and led extensive ideation workshops. These were not just limited to the design team, but involved cross-functional collaboration with product managers, engineers, and data scientists. These workshops served as a platform for brainstorming, fostering a free flow of ideas, and encouraging innovative thinking across the team.

This combination of user research, competitor analysis, and ideation workshops, led to the development of a more robust and user-friendly search experience. Our refined search functionality streamlined the file retrieval process.

Component Library

Recognizing a gap in the existing design system at Dropbox, I took the initiative to create my own library for mobile components. This resource was not only beneficial to my own work but was also shared with fellow designers, demonstrating leadership, initiative, and collaborative problem-solving.

User Research

I conducted countless hours of User Research, with a particular focus on retrieval and rich media workflows. This experience gave me a deep understanding of our user needs and behaviors, guiding our design process.

As we began to pivot towards improving the Search experience across Dropbox, user research was integral to our strategy. Along with my Product Manager, we utilized many "Real World Wednesdays" sessions as well as longer focused sessions later in the week to get a grasp of what our users actually needed when searching for their files and content on a cloud storage service.

We took the insights gathered from the user research and shaped them into the aforementioned Search vision deck, which I presented to our design executives for feedback. Our user-centric approach ensured that our proposed solutions were in line with the needs of our users, making user research a critical component of our product development process.

Systems thinking:

Improving Dropbox Photos demanded a holistic perspective, understanding how changes to aspects such as retrieval, organization, and editing could impact the system as a whole. The development of a robust Search vision demonstrates this systems thinking, analyzing how each feature interrelates and influences others. Additionally, I created my own component library, filling a gap in the existing design system at Dropbox.

Interaction design:

Are showcased through the development of a photo editing tool, the option to select specific folders for automatic uploads, the implementation of multi-select options, and tweaks to metadata display. By comprehending user interactions with these features, I made the app more user-friendly and efficient.

Service design:

I audited ongoing projects and identified areas of improvement. I viewed the service process from a user's perspective, discovered pain points, and redesigned the service to address them, aiming for an enhanced user experience.

Critical thinking:

My critical thinking skills were vital throughout the project, notably when the facial recognition feature faced legal hurdles. Instead of insisting on its implementation, I made the prudent decision to halt it. Moreover, when organizational changes necessitated a pivot to focus on Search, I conducted User Research, accurately assessing the situation instead of blindly accepting the urgency presented.

Collaboration:

My role in this project required significant collaboration. I partnered effectively with a variety of teams, including desktop Search, back-end engineers, designers, data scientists, and quality assurance. This collaboration led to successful parallelization of workflows and feature sets, thus improving the overall service design. Furthermore, the component library I created with fellow designers not only demonstrates collaboration but also my initiative and problem-solving skills.