Amazon Fire Tablet Launcher Vision
Background
The Fire Tablet Launcher is the main interface customers encounter when they turn on their device, offering links and recommendations to various apps like Books, Videos, Games, and Kindle. Previously, the Launcher spanned a cumbersome 10-page UI. Research and usage data revealed that customers found this layout difficult to navigate, with content too spread out and often perceived as irrelevant. Additionally, it was challenging for users to access their own content (downloaded, uploaded, borrowed, saved, etc.) which was spread across the 10-page UI.
In the second half of 2018, I led the Fire Tablet Design team in creating a vision for redesigning the Launcher. We streamlined the interface from 10 pages to just 3, each with a distinct purpose. The goal was to reduce friction and cognitive load, making it easier for customers to discover relevant new content and seamlessly access their own content.
My Role
As the UX Senior Manager, I fostered a user-centric design culture within the team by modeling and coaching team members to base ideation and design on data and research insights. I encouraged the use of rapid prototyping and user testing to learn early, iterate fast and often. Additionally, I established strong design leadership with key stakeholders, inspiring and influencing the Product and Engineering teams to invest in the Tablet Launcher overhaul, successfully shaping the Fire Tablet roadmap for the next 2-3 years.
Impact
When the minimal lovable product (MLP) of the redesign launched 18 months later, it remained faithful to the original vision. Under my leadership, all key business metrics (including downstream revenue) and customer engagement metrics (such as engagement hours and monthly active users) showed steady, positive growth as a direct result of the vision.
Wireframes
UX Design
Rapid prototyping and Lab study
To inform our hypotheses with qualitative user insights, I led the team in developing several new UX models, creating both functional on-device prototypes and paper prototypes. I also directed a lab study with a group of active Fire Tablet users.
The study confirmed our hypothesis that reducing the number of pages in the Tablet Launcher CX decreased the effort required for customers to access their content. However, we also uncovered unexpected insights—such as the fact that mixing different content types on the same page created visual clutter and reduced the perceived relevance of content. These findings proved invaluable as we refined the design.
