2020
Research, Design, Testing
Jira, Figma
Usability Testing, Rapid Prototyping, UX Research, Design Iteration, Presentation
Smule is a social singing app that lets you enjoy millions of karaoke songs. With Smule, you are able to connect with your friends from all over the world or sing with top artists! In the Summer of 2020, I worked on the Style Studio team as a product design intern.
My project goal surrounded conceptualizing solutions for the Style Studio App (available on IOS and Android). I collaborated with a senior product designer, product manager, and the head of design to establish UI/UX features. I was encouraged to take ownership of this project and pursue the design methodologies I found most fit.
In addition to Style Studio, I worked on a redesign for an experience on the main Smule site.
Due to an NDA, I am not able to disclose the details and visuals of these projects. If you would like to learn more, reach out to me @jahrelim@berkeley.edu.
This internship took place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also happened to be my foot in the door to a "big" product design role. Because of the circumstances of the pandemic and local wildfires, I worked remotely. This required tons of extra communication between my team and project mentor. Even though the timing of this internship was in a period of upheaval, I was still able to learn a lot about the processes of cross-collaboration and engagement between different teams.My key takeaways from my experience working with Smule are:
1. IT'S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP! This internship challenged me to have courage and seek the resources that were offered to me. A huge part of this experience was realizing that I'm not the perfect designer, however, there is boundless learning potential. Being able to receive help from individuals who are ready to guide me was vital in helping me grow as a designer, professional, and person.
2. BE ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK. This internship actually rolled into the start of my senior year of college, so it was easy for me to feel overwhelmed by everything. It was vital for me to maintain transparency and communication with my team to be able to recover from any setbacks such scheduling, deadlines, etc.
3. POSITIVITY IS KEY!! With everything going on in the world at the time, it was easy for one to fall into a state of despondency. The positive environment and attitude of my team help me overlook all of the bad and motivated me to work harder. Positivity is contagious, so surrounding yourself with good energy definitely helps boost team morale.
