Design studio meant to generate ideas for the future of author tools.
Overview
My role: Design lead
From 2016 - 2017 I helped lead efforts to unify and redesign the products and tools meant to help authors create, publish and manage their work on Amazon (named Project Xavier). This began with proposing and conducting research to understand different author archetypes and needs.
Once data was collected and distilled I created a unified information architecture and, with the help of two Jr. designers, created a clickable prototype for remote testing with authors we had recruited through previous research efforts.
Next I worked with an art director to rebrand Author Central to Amazon Author and redesign it to be mobile friendly. This was the first product in the suite which would begin to bring the family of author tools together.
Finally, I spent time creating a new offering called Author Pro which is meant to provide authors with robust insights and data to help them manage their published work and engage with their readers.
The following is a walk-through of Project Xavier, Amazon Author and Author Pro.
When I left Amazon in 2017 the project was still in development.
