Published inCup of Tea·Feb 4, 20184 Things to Know About Working in the Gaming IndustryA primer from interviewing seven designers and artists in the gaming industry — As a young designer, I am always curious about the role of design in the ever-evolving landscape of games. While the resources on this subject matter are lacking, it is something that I think certain key designers are attempting to change. In the pursuit of answers, I was fortunate enough…Gaming10 min readGaming10 min read
Published inCup of Tea·Jan 25, 2018Redesigning SeeAround.meLeading a team of designers to revamp a hyperlocal news app — There have been times where I’ve walked outside, seen some helicopter in the air, and wondered what it was doing there. I come from a small town in the South Bay, so when there is special news or something happening, people are curious to know what it is. SeeAround.me …Design7 min readDesign7 min read
Published inCup of Tea·Jan 24, 2018Afterthoughts on DiscordA follow-up analysis — The original article for my Discord case study can be found here. Because my original study was time-boxed at two weeks on purpose, I did not further any of my design ideas outside of what was discussed. However, being a daily user of Discord, I continued to think about the…UX3 min readUX3 min read
Published inCup of Tea·Jan 24, 2018Another Look: DiscordA study on tweaking the voice communication app that keeps gamers happy — “It’s time to ditch Skype and TeamSpeak.” Discord is a popular voice chat app used by 87 million gamers around the world. The app quickly took the gaming world by storm with its sleek design and player-friendly philosophy, trumping VoIP predecessors such as Skype, TeamSpeak, and Ventrilo. Perhaps their greatest achievement was effectively enhancing and connecting social…UX10 min readUX10 min read
Published inCup of Tea·Jan 23, 2018The Beginner’s Guide to the Whiteboard ChallengeJust before the end of 2017, fellow designer Eunice Choi and I were sitting in a small room laughing nervously about the blank whiteboard staring at us. We were about to begin on our second ever whiteboard challenge practice session, and realized how daunting it could seem. Even in a protected space with a familiar person leading me through the design prompt, the call to think quickly on my feet was something I carried out with stuttering apprehension. Eunice and I were convinced we couldn’t be the only ones feeling intimidated, and we sought to hammer out an article to help designers like us break down the process in a way that wouldn’t hamper our thinking.Whiteboarding1 min readWhiteboarding1 min read
Published inTradecraft·Nov 20, 2017The Beginner’s Guide to the Whiteboard ChallengeThe Designer’s Best Thought Exercise — This article was co-authored by Eunice Choi and Tea Chang, two product designers based in San Francisco looking to help other young designers feel confident in their skills. Today, it is easy to get caught up in the illusion of design — that you hand a problem to a designer…Design8 min readDesign8 min read
