Avatar Creation UX Concepting
Defining the flagship features for Google & YouTube's shared avatar creation experience, empowering users to fully express, explore, and experiment with their virtual identity online.
| Client | Google & YouTube Partnership |
|---|---|
| Project Type | Concept Creation, Prototyping, User Research & Synthesis |
| Role | Experience Design Lead |
| Team | Senior Visual Designer | Dylan Bobier |
|---|---|---|
| Research Lead | Brittany Nugent | |
| Creative Direction | Alex Safchuk | |
| Length | 6 months |
concept resonance
Research lead Brittany met with ten GloYo users – five creators and five casual users – to dest drive our interactive prototypes and concept sketches.
The feedback gathered provided valuable insight into how to direct and prioritize the design effort going forward.
.01
Users crave two levels of control.
Everybody wants to put their own personal spin on their avatar, but our test users were turned off by the idea of “full control” – sculpting, modular clothing, custom artwork.
Providing two clear pathways of control helps users achieve their desired level of customization without feeling overwhelmed.
Preset Thumbnails Only
It can be hard to tell difference between options that only vary subtly, like brow shape or arch height.
Offering only preset features will require more thumbnails and more time to choose between them.
Two Levels of Control
Fewer, but more distinct thumbnails are easier to choose between.
Discrete sliders to toggle through preset assets at smaller intervals of difference allow for quick and easy adjustments.
.02
Clear categorization and guidance enables wayfinding.
Test users felt that three levels of navigation – for example Style > Clothing > Tops – felt intuitive and kept them from getting lost.
Visual thumbnail tiles help users to recognize presets, but future designs should explore how subsections, filtering, and search functionality could cut down wayward browsing time.
Create
Hairstyle
Hunting Mindset
Style
Hunting Mindset
Manage
Closet
Browsing Mindset
Store
Browsing Mindset
.03
An inclusive foundation will support everybody.
Users are seeking attributes that highlight diversity in the realm of culture, religion, race, gender, body, and disability and see these as critical, defining features to building their identify in the virtual space.
Users remarked that seeing culturally specific and disability integrated into the experience felt more honest and inclusive than including them in a separate category or as accessories.
Many remarked that even if they wouldn’t use those options, they felt much better about the experience seeing them there.
.04
Motion brings avatars to life and sparks users’ imaginations.
Users expect motion and interaction control throughout the customization process. Navigation of the physical avatar, like zoom or drag for a dynamic view, gives users a comprehensive and tactile understanding of their customization options.
Animation also adds personality and brand expression to the experience.
Character Animation
Anything the avatar does on it's own or in reaction to user selections.
Viewport Animation
Changes in the user's view, zoom in & out, camera path, user interaction.
UI Animation
Interface changes to confirm selections, smooth transitions, and signpost.
.05
Style customization and shop can drive differentiation.
All user types want to be able to put their own personal spin on their avatar and but liked the ability to tweak something to make it their own.
But most users were turned off by “full control” – sculpting, modular clothing, custom artwork.
Providing two clear pathways of control helps users achieve their desired level of customization without feeling overwhelmed.