Skype for Android Tablet

Prior to my work with Skype, the Skype Android team had already revised the phone UI to align more closely with Microsoft's branding direction. As one of my first tasks with the team, I adapted the direction they had taken with the phone UI and applied it to a brand new tablet client.

I was on point for the chat UI.

Platforms: Android Tablet

Existing Skype Android chat UI for phone

Collaborating with the designers that worked on the phone designs, I took in the requirements and limitations that they had to work with and adapted it for a larger UI that still considered touch interaction. I also considered new branding directions, such as a stronger emphasis on HD profile photos.

Iterating based on design reviews and user research feedback, I created an interaction design spec.

This 33 page spec covered all aspects of the chat UI: the transition of an empty chat experience to a fully populated chat, context menus, edit/deleting a message, edge cases (multi-paragraph messages) and contact related actions available from the chat UI (block contact, favorite, etc).

Because it was for a brand new client, my interaction spec went through tech reviews with the development and test teams for feasibility and scheduling. Based on these reviews, I iterated on my design, coming to compromises with the dev team to ensure we would ship on time.

Once the interaction spec was locked, development began initial back end implementation while I worked 1:1 with a visual designer to refine the UI and generate pixel perfect references for the engineering team to execute on.