Skype + Material Design
When Google released Material Design, Skype for Android needed a full redesign to feel natural in the new ecosystem, including mobile and tablet.
Role
- Lead visual and interaction designer in charge of collaborating with other designers on my team, as well as cross-functionally with product managers and developers.
- Collaborated closely with the IOS Skype team and Google Material Design Team to ensure visual familiarity and consistency across platforms.
Opportunities
- While material design had its own strong look and feel, the redesign needed to blend it with Skype’s personality to make sure the brand identity wasn’t lost.
- It was a full redesign, every single screen of the web, mobile and tablet apps. No page was left untouched, so It was a great opportunity to tighten flows and refresh interactions along with styling.
- Because Skype IOS was going through a full redesign simultaneously, our two teams were able to work in tandem to determine where new design patterns could be aligned and make sure both versions consistently kept Skype’s familiar experience.
- It was an opportunity to collaborate with the Material Design team and deeply understand their system thinking and how to apply it to our tools.
Results
- The redesigned Skype Android app was selected as one of the top apps in 2015 by Google.
- It was well-received internally as well, both those on the project and in leadership felt we kept the right balance between a native android experience and Skype’s unique brand and flavor.