A global app platform with over 40 million user-created games, Roblox’s ecosystem spans the vast fields of mobile, desktop, web, console, and now, virtual reality (VR). I joined Design Systems on May 23rd— working with UXR, content design, engineering, and product to ship simple and approachable experiences in Roblox's new metaverse.
Section 2 // Background
VR is a challenging medium, because its very fabric consists of tricking the brain into conditions of embodiment. In simulating new environments, a host of challenges are raised for both designers & users. While existing Roblox players expect a seamless and familiar experience when moving from mobile to VR, a shift in medium unlocks a new set of constraints & design patterns.
Being on both the Design Systems & VR team,my decisions had to feel native to the spacial nature of 3D, while staying consistent with the rest of Roblox's design: championing our 66 million DAUs.
Section 3 // Small, Selected Excerpts
Figure(s) 2. Some of these projects are set to ship in the next quarter- details have been blurred and resized purposefully.
On July 27, 2023, we launched to our first million unique beta users on the Meta store— cheers to what comes next.
The gravity and scale of a company like Roblox can be daunting— any change requires the utmost care. As a designer, I was laying the groundwork for completely new paradigms. I entered Roblox with no prior VR experience, but left having run enough field studies to achieve coworker annoyance (and a semi-permanent controller claw 🦀).
Now, I know better than ever the ripple effect of my work, & the power that passion plays within design. If immersed with enough empathy, effort, and persistence— a designer can intimately learn a completely new medium in 12 weeks.
Below, I hope you enjoy a few tidbits from my journey :)
01
🎨
Redesigning the In-Experience Controls Menu
Audited designs, ran play-testing sessions, and categorized the severity of user pain points using Nielsen's heuristics. Later, wrote translatable copy strings, made aesthetic improvements, and collaborated with content designer to ship work— reflecting a delicate balance between system requirements & user mental models.
02
🎮
Side Quest: FAQ Illustration
Iteratively drafted illustrations using vector design tools like Figma & Adobe illustrator. Explored different viewing angles and design styles within brand guidelines (this illustration is also used in our in-experience controls menu).
When people experience VR, discomfort is common. What they see, and the lack of motion detected by a their inner ear creates a sense of motion-sickness. Previously, multiple options could be adjusted separately to combat this, but casual users weren't likely to fully understand what the separate options actually did. Additionally, options worked most effectively against motion sickness when configured as a set. Working deeply in our design system, I led UI for our "Comfort Settings" menu project— from conducting competitive analyses to a project re-scope. Overall, I successfully advocated for a MVP that allowed players to easily adjust the amount of motion in VR based on personal sensitivity, enhancing gameplay experiences for all players levels via personalized, granular features.
✌️ Reduced motion related complaints by over 50% among testers
04
☎️
Roblox Connect Menu
After launching functionality that enables game developers to make actual in-experience calls, Roblox Design created a sample experience to showcase the possibilities of our feature. The existing menu was performing poorly in tests, so I conducted further UXR with 6 participants to clarify issues with "Camera Mode" & "Location" iconography. Later, worked with our art director to create 8+ new icon requests for the Roblox design system (uiBlox) & shipped UI design improvements.
🏋️ Design changes improved UXR metrics like task completion rate and TT by over 30% (ie. change camera mode from Freeplay to Cinematic )
✨ Experience has been played 7.7 million times & counting
05
🥽
Accessibility Settings (Mobile, Desktop, Tablet)
Designed hand-in-hand with Andrew Peng, Andrea Fletcher, & Kelly Steinhart— building a responsive Settings design MVP (with additional partners across product, accessibility, & engineering)
🏋️ Shipped Roblox’s first ever accessibility settings, supporting 66 million DAUs as the first step towards more customizable and considerate settings
🔗 You can play around with my design in the Accessibility section of your Roblox Desktop or Mobile app :)
✨ See more notes on the scope of the changes here!
⚠️
But wait… There’s more!
Lots of process and research guides my designs— I also worked on a bunch of non-settings related projects that I can’t yet share with the public (even behind password protect. These involved wonderful research, creative collaboration, and even a bit of type design. Please reach out to hear more!
As a company, Roblox heavily aligns with my own values— we spread delight and happiness through design, we take the long view on creating foundations, & always, we build with optimism and civility. If these sound like values that you or your company shares, let's work together!
01
🔭
Create visibility
My projects involved countless ambiguous, logistical, and creative challenges that I was trusted to think through. Near the latter half of the internship, I got much more comfortable with setting up meetings and leading conversations about moving forward– acting as both a designer and facilitator. It’s up to me to find the visibility that my project needs– but my mentor and manager can help guide me to the right people.
02
👾
Don’t forget about the engineers
Compromises between design and engineering were everything; I had to know when and how to be flexible. In the face of complex technical constraints and an incredible amount of tech debt– I’d often work more closely with engineers than designers to define scope, specs, and make visual tweaks. Unearthing new knowledge and context helped me take on different challenges– I feel that my perspective broadened and I became a better designer because of it.
03
🌾
Don’t work in silos
I learned that proactively reaching out is essential to success— especially in a bureaucratic yet fast paced environment like Roblox. I see an alternate reality where I could have expended months of time and effort on less impactful aspects of my project founded on older assumptions, rather than working on things we had an urgent need to ship. I've learned that it can be damaging to make design decisions without seeking other stakeholders out, roadmap is defined by single every platform.
04
🪑
Build foundations for the future
My time at Roblox was undoubtedly uneventful– I went from my initial project, which was projected to take the entire summer, to 9 other ones- reflecting pivot after pivot. Looking back, I accomplished an incredible amount of work in 12 weeks. While many of my projects were shipped or in the process of being shipped by the end of the summer, I was always encouraged to identify EVPs (Excellent Viable Product opportunities for the future). While I'm incredibly excited 66 million DAUs can experience my work- it turns out that the end goal is not always shipping- laying the groundwork for the future experience is just as important ;)
Section 5 // Photo Gallery
Figure 3. Ft. The Obligatory Golden Gate Bridge Photo
Section 5 // An extra special thank you to...
Figure 4. End of Summer Collage
Yale: Hi Mentor! I always looked forward to our weekly 1 on 1s– you have such extensive knowledge about the inner workings of Roblox design that I thought of you like a living Figma library. You had something insightful to say about every one of my iterations and I cherished your support.
Dan Rader: Hi Manager! Your ability to center your work around a north star is incredible. I always enjoyed listening to your slide decks: vision work or not. I also learned a ton from the way you present and tell stories. I will let you know when I make kombucha.
@Roblox: Thank you Robloxians for entrusting me with a summer of opportunity, and blessing me all of your with principal-y design insights. I hope my work is enjoyed greatly.
Kevin Logan: My Roblox counselor and interviewer. Thanks for believing in me, and being here for me :) So long ago did my journey first start with you.
David Navarro: While I met you quite late into my internship: you made a humongous impact on my work, well-being, and success. It was such a treat to work hand-in-hand with you, and have you bring so many years of art direction to the table.
Your daily asynchronous and synchronous check-ins kept me grounded, and you always keep it real. Thank you for advocating for me + my work, and being my blunt buddy. You always share my enthusiasm for visuals and I cannot wait to finally share what we worked on after it launches >:))
Andrea & Andrew: The best seatmates! Accessibility crew! Thanks go out to the both of you offering me support on my first Roblox PR :)
Carlo Conte: Thank you for your support as well, you always made me laugh. Can't wait to see our finished controls page 🏴⚓️☠️️
@Interns: YOU MADE THIS SUMMER SO FUN. An extra special shoutout to the roomies (Cathy, Yinan, Mina <3 )
Alita Thomas & Vedant Patel: Product Designers— thank you for helping me edit & refine this case study
Alex: You helped me swap and test over a dozen different font files to find that perfect weight. Appreciate your cheer and warmness so much 🥹
Joshua: Thank you for your support and advocacy on the product side. You were absolutely invaluable to the team & I wish met you earlier in my journey :)
