Amazon Music Car Mode

Amazon Music app feature

Launched 2023

Product Design Lead

Individual design work

Car Mode is a simplified experience of the Amazon Music mobile app for the iOS and Android. It utilizes machine-learning algorithm to populate contents that allows for quick playback resumption of customer’s music, audiobooks, and podcasts in the car and on-the-go. I led the end-to-end product design of the initiative and collaborated with product, UX research, and engineering teams to implement and launch the product.

Deliverables: interaction design, high-fidelity visual design, prototyping, user research, and NHTSA testing

Business context

Car Mode is a simplified Amazon Music interface for the iOS and Android mobile apps, first launched in 2021. It features a curated list of recommendations (see image below) based on the customer's mobile listening activity.

We received feedback that the legacy Car Mode’s list view is too limiting and fails to surface relevant recommendations, causing customers to exit the experience. I led the end-to-end redesign to envision the next-generation Car Mode experience, partnering with cross-functional and external partners to execute on the vision.

How could we make the product better?

Safety First

How might we ensure the experience is safe and appropriate for in-car usage?

Continue Listening

How might we design an experience where customers can easily resume their previous listens?

Ease of Use

How might we leverage existing visual and interaction patterns from our mobile app to utilize established muscle memory?

User research and interview

I conducted ten hour-long interviews with active Car Mode customer to understand their listening behaviors and pain points. A majority of customers expressed a desire for quick access to their familiar content with minimal friction. To determine which content types to prioritize, I deployed an external survey to 200 Car Mode customers to gather directional feedback.

89%* expressed desire for their familiar contents to be pinned

*178/200 of participants rated the appeal of content pinning on top visible surface 4/5 and 5/5 (5-point Likert scale). Playlist was identified as the most desired content type that customer would like to jump back to easily.

Scalable design system

One challenge in implementing Car Mode was that our existing design system was optimized solely for the standard mobile app. Car Mode required a larger font ramp and increased tile sizing for safe in-vehicle usage. By utilizing core mobile components as a foundation, we built bespoke elements via system variants. The primary benefit of this approach is that future updates to the core design system propagate automatically to the Car Mode interface.

Here is an example of that approach. Taking the regular mobile app’s vertical content tiles, removing extraneous meta data for simplification, and adding a larger variant to the font ramp to suit our bolder text and tap target requirement for in-vehicle usage.

Quantifying measure of safety

As part of the launch requirements from legal, the project team ensured the product complied with NHTSA driver distraction guidelines. Our project team worked with an external vendor (FKA SV) to run a full study using a vehicle simulator. External participants were recruited for the study, which utilized eye-gaze tracking glasses and a 360 degree vehicle simulator to help us test common interaction patterns in a controlled environment. We also conducted an exit interview to gather feedback from participants.

“It was easy to find the information needed. I felt comfortable performing the tasks while driving” (from survey)

82% of participants reported they were satisfied or very satisfied with Car Mode, rating it a 4 or 5 on a five-point scale during the driving simulator test. We were able to proceed with product launch after successfully certifying our design to be compliant with NTHSA's Driver Distraction Guideline.

Product launch

The Car Mode product was successfully launched in 2023 as an integrated feature within the Amazon Music iOS and Android apps. It remains active today, highly valued by customers who use their mobile phones as standalone devices while driving. The updated experience provides a quick, intuitive way for users to access their favorite content. Since implementation, we have seen an increase in music and podcast listening hours, a 10.6% decrease in Car Mode exit rates, and a 26.5% improvement in UI CSAT. These strong outcomes have established Car Mode as a core product of Amazon Music.

Amazon Music Fire TV App

Fire TV OS

Product Design Lead

Led a team of 4

The Amazon Music Fire TV app delivers an immersive and cinematic content streaming experience for customers at home. I led the design effort by working with cross-functional teams to align on the information architecture, scalable visual design system, and remote-based interaction patterns. 

Deliverables: information architecture, remote-based interaction design, visual design system

Immersive and cinematic experience

Designed for the biggest screen in the home, the Amazon Music Fire TV app delivers an unparalleled, immersive and cinematic experience. I led a team of designers to reimagine the TV customer journey by stripping away navigational hurdles, ensuring nothing stands between our customers and the content they love. We built the core interactions to support both remote and voice-based navigation, extending our mobile IA structure to create a familiar browsing experience. Our goal is to reduce friction and provide the essential building blocks for customers to quickly resume their favorites or discover their next obsession.

Multi-modal experience

We envision a future where Alexa+ integrates directly into the TV experience. By combining LLM-powered voice input with visual output, customers can seamlessly search and discover content. This multi-modal and multi-turn approach creates a natural interaction design that significantly accelerates the path to playback.

Amazon Music in Tesla

Third-party integration

Launched 2024

Product Design Lead

Led a team of 2 + external design team

The Amazon Music app was integrated into the Tesla infotainment system via a web-based API. The app was launched as part of the over-the-air update in Q3 2024 for all Tesla vehicles. I led the integration effort by defining the UX information architecture and branding to build the core app experience. Throughout the implementation phase, I also worked closely with solution architects and QA engineers to resolve fit-and-finish issues prior to product launch. 

Deliverables: interaction design, information architecture, branding, quality assurance testing, and prototyping

Integration challenges

For third-party (3P) integrations, we have reduced control over rendering content in our preferred formats. To account for the limitations inherent in non-1P/2P service models, we implemented a web-based API capable of providing content-style hinting to partner systems. Our goal is to stabilize these variables to ensure a frictionless listening experience for our customers.

Scalable architecture

Major part of third-party integration effort is to design a scalable UX information architecture that could be deployed for multiple partners. I collaborated with our product and engineering partners to create an information architecture that will help customer resume playback of their favorite listens and discover new contents. Based on the information architecture, the web-based pages are rendered and the team work with the quality assurance team to address issues prior to commercial deployment.

Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV

Ford Motor Company

Launched 2023

Product Design Lead

Individual design work + management of external team

I was part of Ford’s EV task force to refresh the SYNC 4A system for the Mustang Mach-E SUV. Focusing on addressing customer feedback on usability and polish. I worked on vehicle settings, advanced driver assistance, drive modes, and driver display layouts. I also managed an external design team to deliver on the production assets for the driver cluster.

Deliverables: interaction design, visual design, motion design, and assets delivery

In-vehicle settings

As part of the project, I redesigned the settings menu to prioritize interactive controls on the primary screen, with the goal of reducing the steps required for customers to reach their desired content. In addition to updating the visuals to align with the latest design system, I collaborated closely with engineering and product partners to categorize and consolidate essential functions into a streamlined set of tabs.

Polaris Ride-Command

Polaris

Launched 2021

Senior Product Designer

Individual design work

Polaris Ride Command is a GPS navigation and vehicle management system for off-road vehicles and motorcycles. I led the design of the new customizable digital gauge and battery charging features launched for the electrified Kinetic XP lineup. By leveraging our design system as a foundation, I enhanced the visual experience with engaging graphical elements designed to amplify the riding experience for our customers.

Deliverables: interaction design, visual design, asset delivery, QA support, and motion design

Indian Motorcycle Electronic Preload

Polaris / Indian Motorcycle

Launched 2021

Senior Product Designer

Individual design work

Indian Motorcycles equipped with electronically adjustable shock preload help the rider to customize their carriage load settings on the 7” touchscreen display powered by Ride-Command.

I led the end-to-end design of the preload feature, collaborating with marketing insights and the engineering team to bring the feature to market. The focus is to create a visually forward method to adjust the rear shock preload accordingly to improve ride and handling characteristics for riders on the go.

Deliverables: interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and user research