Working on a wide range of projects helped me gain a perspective that played an important part in shaping my deign ethos and practices. You can read more about my evolution into an Interaction Designer in the about me page.
(2008-Present, Collaborative project, On-going)
This redesign of one of the top destinations on the web (with over 54 million Unique Visitors per month) represents a significant shift in product stratergy- aligning the business to current and future user browsing patterns. With features like social networking, RSS browser, third party email & robust customization, the new AOL.com truly represents the spirit of the open web. And this is just the beginning.
Other projects include Bookmarking tool and Mobile version/ iPhone application.
AOL Publishing
(2008-Present, Collaborative project, On-going)
The Content Management System (CMS) is the nerve center of any publishing operation. AOL's publshing platform is no different- its large, complex both from a technology & design perspective. This effort is intended to transform diverse publishing systems acquired over the years into a unified cohesive platform.
I primarily focus on the part of the system that handles photos. I'm responsible for gathering requirements, designing the interaction models and the user interface for various components of the tool. Challenges include reconciling requirements from different businesses with varying task flows, priorities and dealing with legacy systems.
(2007-2008, Collaborative project, Completed)
With over 5 million UV's per month, AOL Shopping is one of the top Comparison Search Engine's on the web. I led the Interaction Design efforts for the complete redesign of the Shopping channel. The first phase included negotiating a change in the business model to build a better user experience.
The second phase involved building shopping tools like list management, ratings & reviews and personalization. I conducted extensive design research (iterative user testing, focus groups, quasi-ethnographic observation & cognitive 1-1’s) to better understand user goals and expectations.
(2006, Collaborative project, Completed)
This redesign of the new cars section of AOL Autos involved replacing Edmunds.com as the content partner with an internal product developed by our team. I worked with a team of designers along with the Autos business unit, Developers and content providers in a highly collaborative atmosphere.
One of my initiatives was to introduce interactive prototyping into the design process. This helped us to test our interaction models with real users early and was especially useful in complex situations like faceted filtering, vehicle configuration etc.