S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 I N T E R N S H I P
GoTranslate
Translating by simply tapping and holding the screen to speak made conversations easier.
Contact me for more details
Time: Aug - Sept 2022 (2 Months)
Role: UX Design Intern
Responsibility: Designed the end-to-end experience on IOS.
Team: Ziai (UX Designer), Cathy (PM), Rou (PM), Lorraine (Data Analyst), Wenbo (Developer), Tony (Design Mentor), Rock (CEO)
Highlight
In the 13-week internship at a startup, Rock TechX. I initiated and drove two end-to-end mobile app designs. GoTranslate was the most memorable one. On this program, although I was the only designer on the team, I actively solicited other designers in the company to review my designs at different stages. I also collaborated closely with PMs and developers to ensure that the designs were in alignment with business goals and were technically feasible.
My intern project specifically focuses on delivering an intuitive and accessible conversation translation experience for people returning to travel in the post-epidemic period.
Feature Walkthrough
Welcome! Let’s Start!
Users can quickly become familiar with new features by watching animated instructions. And the animation guides will only appear when the users use GoTranslate for the first time.
Tap and Hold Screen to Speak
Users can tap anywhere on the screen to record their voices with confidence and ease. They no longer have to worry about pressing the wrong position of the record button and not recording successfully!
When the user taps and holds to record, the screen will vibrate, a beep will be heard, and an aperture will flash. The tactile-auditory-visual cues inform the user that they are currently recording the voice.
Automatic
Language Recognition
With one-click recording and automatic language recognition, users can easily record their own and each other's languages, enhancing overall communication efficiency.
Long Voice Recording
and Translation Display
What if users talk a lot in one conversation, or they try to record the voice of a lecturer or speaker? To allow the user to see more of the recording or translation result, the displayed text will gradually get smaller.
Clear History
Users can select all conversations and delete them with one click, or tap to partially delete them.
With a single click or tap, users can add their frequently used conversations to favorites, so they can use them again when traveling or learning them later.
Add to Favorites
Animated Guidances
The animation of guidance provides an intuitive way for users to learn new features and form memories. By tapping anywhere on the screen, users can easily turn off the guidance.
What I accomplished:
Initiated and drove end-to-end design within the translator product team based on user research, competitor analysis, and business goals.
Leveraged data analysis reports and recognized technical constraints to drive design decisions on reducing first-time user friction, and designed for edge cases accessibility and internationalization.
Enhanced accessibility by utilizing touch vibration and animated visual effects.
Iterated UX designs by soliciting feedback from peers and stakeholders through phased design reviews and presentations.
Supported the development of GoTranslate app with detailed design specifications and audits.
In addition to doing the UX and UI design for GoTranslate, I also:
Reviewed colleagues' low and high-fidelity designs weekly and offered suggestions for improvement.
Organized weekly meetings to exchange design knowledge.
Key Takeaways
Enhancing communication skills
When I communicated with other departments, I found that sometimes it took a long time to explain an issue. Then I learned to use analogies and storytelling to clearly present my design thinking. In such a way, I greatly improved the overall communication efficiency between my colleagues and me.
Deepening understanding of the agile process
Through this project, I learned that agile methods are used for incremental products. As a designer, I should not try to solve all problems at one time. In the process, I started to prioritize different tasks and evaluate how many resources I can leverage for achieving business goals.
Documenting files for the product team
During my internship, I learned how to structure and organize my design documents for the project team. A good document organization habit ensures that all the different phased documents are stored well. When other designers continue on this project, they can keep track of my previous research and clearly understand my overall design thoughts and decisions.
Advocating for design
As the only designer on the team, I advocated for research and was cautious about my design decisions. As part of this project, I invited other designers within the company to evaluate my designs at different stages, and I respected the developer's technical feedback to ensure technical feasibility. The final design was made with some compromises, but they were all to create a more intuitive and efficient voice translation platform.