For the past decade, YouTube has been the leader of providing video content to the world. Yet to share a YouTube video, users must rely on 3rd parties (Facebook, etc). As social giants Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp started to grow their video content in 2015, Youtube's lack of social experiences became a huge competitive disadvantage. Our team's goal was to build new features to make YouTube the best place to share and chat about video with friends.
When I started on this team, it had churned for a year without a design strategy. I helped the team switch to an iterative design and research process (Lean UX), which let us innovate faster. As the Design Lead, I produced designs, planned OKR goals, mentored interns, and managed the deliverables of contractors and visual designers.
Our team's goal was to make YouTube the best place to share and chat about video with friends. We did this by first creating a direct sharing feature within YouTube, then incorporating a co-watching experience within it, allowing users to watch videos and converse at the same time.
We launched native sharing in May 2016, with positive media response and user engagement. Most importantly, it created a viral social graph within YouTube, building a foundation for future social features.
To review an in-depth selection of my work, my resume, or to discuss working together, please get in touch: