Project Brief
For this project, I chose to redesign Aura, a photo frame app that serves as both a control interface and a photo library for a connected digital frame. The app’s original design is geared toward an older demographic, but I wanted to reimagine it for a younger audience. My target persona is a GenZ marketer, someone under 35, who values trends, aesthetics, and intuitive design. The goal was to make digital frames trendy and relevant for a younger generation of buyers.
Project Duration
2 Weeks
Programs Used
Figma
Year
2024
Name: Emily
Age: 23
Occupation: Corporate marketer
Traits: Social, trend-conscious, busy, and creative.
Emily loves keeping up with trends and enjoys photo albums but finds traditional methods time-consuming. A digital frame app designed with her in mind would prioritize aesthetics, simplicity, and functionality.
The Aura app’s current design has several strengths:
A simple color palette.
Clear type hierarchy.
Consistent visual weight among elements.
However, there are notable areas for improvement:
Inconsistent Iconography: Some icons have mismatched styles and weights.
Confusing Navigation: Arrows hugging frame option icons can be mistaken for multi-icon functionality rather than photo skip/reverse controls.
Overwhelming Home Screen: The display of uploaded photos feels cluttered and busy.
Line Weight Inconsistencies: Visual inconsistencies detract from the polished feel of the app.
Design Philosophy: Maintain the clean and modern aesthetic of the original design while making it trendier, more consistent, and tailored to a Gen Z audience. Rather than a complete overhaul, I focused on refining and modernizing key elements to align with the new user persona.
Redesign Highlights
Typography:
Made bold typefaces bolder for a more impactful, trendy look.
Ensured consistent use of fonts across the app.
Home Screen Redesign:
Transformed the activity tab into collapsible cards, creating a cleaner, more organized appearance.
Enabled swipe gestures to expand cards into a carousel for seamless navigation.
Redesigned the photos tab to resemble a typical photo library, a format familiar and comfortable for Gen Z users.
Frame Control Screen:
Reordered content for better clarity and functionality.
Redesigned skip and forward functions by introducing a preview of adjacent images. This allows users to see what’s coming up next or what was previously displayed, improving navigation and user experience.
Visual Consistency:
Unified icon styles and line weights to ensure a cohesive look and feel.
Removed unnecessary social media-like features that detracted from the app’s primary purpose.
Screen Iterations
Fall 2024
Figma