Hi, I'm Sam. A Product designer & systems thinker.

Selected works 2014-2022

eBay

2014 – 2017

Design for eBay Classified's Native apps including 13 global brands.

Samsung AR

2018 – 2019

Samsung AR product tutorials in conjuction with Google. Featured at Google IO.

Discogs
Year – 2021
Design for the leading vinyl marketplace including strategy and product vision.

CAIS

Year – 2020

Fintech startup including branding, UX/UI and strategy.

3d Modeling
Year - 2021
Personal/hobbyist 3d renders using Blender over the past two years.

Discogs

The leading marketplace for vinyl sales and user-generated music data. I presented concepts and features for how to modernize the platform.

UX UI STRATEGY

Discogs is the leader in music catalog release data. It sat positioned to leverage this in very exciting ways.

The challenge of a deep technical debt was substantial but product vision through design was intended to spark change.

There were many UX challenges withing the platform including search, browse, shipping, payment flows and more.

Additionally Discogs was missing the 'Halo effect' that could be provided by updating a more modern UI and visual design language.

A variety of concepts were presented showing how not only the UI could be modernized, but how the mountains of data could be better utilized for a more engaging end-user experience.

Discogs has an 'organic' nature in the sense that all of its data is user-generated. Also, the musically-minded millenial userbase was generally weary of corporate holds. Some of the aesthetic flourishes were mindful of this.

Another design push was to be more mobile-first in thinking. Much of the platform had put mobile as an afterthought - ignoring the usage statistics.

Explorations showing review notifications and community/ediitorial content.

All efforts were rooted in listening to the users. A number of qualitiative research sessions were conducted around shipping, search, and a braoder heuristic site evaluation.

The practice of research and recorded user interviews proved extremely helpful in pushing design forward in an org that had little design presence.

The information architecture was another opportunity for improvement. Time and time again users became confused at the relationship between albums and versions of said albums.

Feedback loops, in the cybernetic sense of input, sensor, output - were important to all aspects of design. Simply said, better utilizing the info given to the system by the user.

Samsung

Working with Samsung's U.S. Head of Innovation as well as the Google Daydream Team and the startup Streem, I designed an AR Tutorial for a new Samsung washer.

UX UI 3D MODELING

Working with Google Daydream Team, we utilized new cloud anchoring technology to recognize physical objects, allowing us to place objects or 3d models around the recognized geometry.

This allowed for a novel and delightful experience that encouraged product exploration - allowing Samsung to highlight features that otherwise may missed.

One of the principles of AR paired with an 'unboxing' expierence was kinetic learning. By engaging multiple sense, users better recognize and recall product features

For this project I learned Blender, the 3d modeling software allowing for the creation of detailed parts that could be inserted into '3d space.'

3d modeling software also allowed for dynamic physics which were utilized to provide meaningful and engaging product instructions.

One of the highlights of my design career was having this AR expierence for Samsung featured at Google Marketing Live as well as Google IO in from of thousands of marketing execs and millions of developers.

More 3d modelling shots showing the ability to add animation upon object recognition.

3d modelling of parts details, all done in Blender. These were coupled with UI instructions shown next to the models or 'on glass.'

Screens showing volumetric UI as well as 'on glass' UI layer.

For this project I also learned Unity to create quick prototypes. Here I was able to get an early proto to recognize 2d images and then place objects in the scene.

eBay

I spent 3.5 years as a Senior Product Designer crafting all aspects of eBay Classifieds native apps. From messaging to payments, to selling to search, and product vision.

UX UI STRATEGY

eBay Classifieds owned 13 brands Globally with over a billion in annual revenue. I was on the Global Mobile Native Apps team, responsible for the 13 iOS and Anroid experiences. Both hovered around a 4.5/4.7 App Store/Play Store rating.

Some of the best known brands include Kijiji in Canada and Gumtree in the UK and Australia. Milions of daily active users globally.

Quick motion study of one of the 13 international brands I designed for with eBay. Kijiji alone connects over 16 million buyers and sellers each month.

One of the opportunities/challenges was designing flows that are unique and flexible enough for all of the various verticals. Selling a car is very different than selling a Playstation. Recognizing context was key as well as adaptive interfaces. Cybernetic school of thought around Input, Sensor, Output was inspirational to the UX.

In addition to designing core flows like search, browse, selling, payments, etc I also pushed on product vision using testing and high fidelity mocks and prototypes.

At eBay we utilized a two week user testing cadence to support our 'Dual Track Agile' method of design and development.

There was a constant flow of ideation around various buisiness problems and in conjunction with Product Managers – was brought into testing for validation, refinement, delivery and then measurment.

Numerous concepts around selling were designed as well. Context proved key here due to the differences in various verticals. Selling a car vs. selling a sweater.

One of the design approaches used was to stress test differences early on. To diverge before converging. Here are 3 different takes on the selling flow. Hub and spoke vs camera first vs title first.

A modular design system was core to the app redesign. Following Atomic Design System principles, this approach allowed for more consistency and ease of development.

Driving engagement measured by DAU/MAU was a constant push. Ideation around interaction models that increased positive time spent in the experience was always a forethought. Looking for ways to utilize newer tech, be it machine learning or video; pushing on conventional web based models.

In addition to Core product design I was flow to Dublin to participate in an eBay Tech Conference, with my designs winning first place for how to broaden local buying and selling appeal to Gen Z.

I try to incorporate ideas of 'perceived simplicty,' 'progessive reveal,' 'capturing intent' and more into the UX thinkng that supports all screen design.

A modular design system was also critical to the app. This allowed for rapid ideation as well as more fluid building with consistency for the end user.

Contextual design was a consideration across various verticals and all of their similarities/differences.

CAIS

CAIS is an alternative investment firm looking to become a leader in the fintech space. I provided a more approachable look and a more approachable experience.

UX UI STRATEGY

With most of the competition presenting as traditional banking and investment, CAIS was looking to visually humanize the world of alternative investments.

They foresaw a wave of 'democratization' of investment opportunities previously opened to accredited investors or the uber wealthy, and wanted the UI/UX to reflect this.

The UX strategy included an optimized lead generation funnel; a modern onboarding experience that fed into a personalized logged in state complete with matching users to appropriate investment opportunities based on their risk profile.

The crux of this was connecting Fund Managers to prospective investors, or Financial Advisors acting on behalf of their clients. A two-sided marketplace.

Content proved king. Through research it was shown there was an appetite for investment expertise as given by Hedge Fund Managers. We aimed to engage the managers and to nudge them into producing dynamic thought pieces utilizing video, articles, interviews and more.