OVERVIEW
After the success of Pocket Home, a virtual home decorating app, the company decided to develop a virtual pet. After six long but rewarding months, Pocket Bear Kuma San was born.

The initial outcome was to release a mobile game with a high retention rate by developing a delightful and unique experience suitable for all ages.

Lead Designer | Broken Thumbs Apps
Art lead, design strategy, visual design, usability testing, marketing materials.
Team of 6 designers & 3 developers
February 2012 - June 2012

THE CHALLENGES
Defining an art style that could stand out in the competitive space of mobile gaming.
Creating a framework that would allow the design team to efficiently release weekly content updates.

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

Scoping out the market to observe trends and analyze user reviews gave us insight on how we can approach our own project. At the time, Tiny Tower was a huge hit and reviewers were drawn to the pixel art style which gave them a sense of nostalgia. Research was not limited to the app store - we sourced information from widely popular console games such as Animal Crossing and Nintendogs to better understand how users can interact with characters.

DESIGNING THE MAIN CHARACTER - KUMA SAN

Designing a main character with mass appeal consisted of appearance, personality, and ability to interact. After voting on his appearance, we decided to go with a friendly yet somewhat snarky attitude which proved to be popular within games like Animal Crossing - making the character more relatable and interesting to users of all ages. Interactions were not limited to tapping - Kuma San would also take action by initiating conversation. This allowed for a natural relationship.

BUILDING A FRAMEWORK AND DESIGN SYSTEM

Establishing a framework which would streamline content creation and reduce development time was essential. My idea to map out a grid in which all assets would snap to and establish a file naming convention reduced development time by 100% when new content was released. Designing reusable components and providing templates made it possible to collaborate with designers to create and deliver content on a weekly basis.

MANAGING DESIGNERS AND CREATING CONTENT

Managing 5 remote designers to create collections that were scheduled every 1-2 weeks was possible with standardized templates and reusable components. Art direction included training the designers how to use new tools which ultimately bonded us together. Collections were inspired by trends in the media such as movies, celebrities, and social media. Everyone in the company was encouraged to contribute ideas, which gave breathe to our offerings and target audience.

WIRE FRAMING TO PIECE THINGS TOGETHER

Meetings with the development and business teams were held to review all wireframes on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. This ensured that most edge cases were covered and we were developing a solution that would make sense from a usability and technical standpoint. In addition to reviewing wireframes on the computer, the white board was utilized to quickly brainstorm solutions when new ideas or problems arose.

HIGH FIDELITY USER TESTING

With a pilot of the game loaded on an iphone, our team went to a local city college to guerrilla test (with candy and treats as an incentive, of course). I observed users enjoying the concept and aesthetics of the game - but also that they were having difficulty tapping on and moving objects. We later enlarged the touch targets, allowing users to more easily tap on objects and buttons.

I also had a lot of fun designing the swag that we offered to those who tested.

THE FINAL PRODUCT