Interaction Design

Humor as an Interaction Hook

Designed avatars expressions for avatar stickers, transforming abstract emotional nuances into high-engagement visual assets to drive user adoption and daily active interaction.

Year :

2024

Industry :

Technology

Client :

Meta

Project Duration :

2 weeks

Problem :

Younger adult users showed low engagement with the platform's avatar system: stickers felt generic, avatars lacked emotional resonance, and there was little motivation to create or customize a personal avatar. The core interaction design question was how to make avatars feel more expressive and emotionally responsive so teens actually want to interact with them.

Solution :

I designed and animated a system of avatar interactions, including locomotion, reactive clothing behaviors, emotion-driven poses, and expressive sticker moments, that translated user research and trend insights into tangible micro-interactions. I made specific interaction decisions such as calibrating pose timing and hold duration so each sticker read instantly as a reaction, and mapping how the avatar responded differently across trigger states (idle, emotion change, clothing swap) to keep behavior consistent and legible. Working cross-functionally with UX researchers, artists, and engineers, I built interaction prototypes from low-fidelity blocking to high-fidelity motion, and iterated through multiple rounds of internal usability testing, refining timing, exaggeration, and readability until the interactions felt intuitive and delightful. One sticker in particular used humor as an interaction hook, becoming a standout example of the approach and resonating strongly with users.

Challenge :

Balancing emotional authenticity with technical constraints was the hardest part: every interaction had to read instantly, feel human, and align with a strict design system, while going through multiple stakeholder and review rounds. Translating qualitative research into concrete motion decisions, without formal UX training at the time, meant learning to advocate for interaction choices with reasoning and iteration rather than instinct alone. I was directly involved in brainstorming sessions and internal usability testing, and helped shape design changes based on that testing rather than only receiving research findings secondhand.

Summary :

This project became the bridge from animation into interaction design. It proved that motion, timing, and responsiveness are core UX tools, not just visual polish. Through hands-on participation in research synthesis, usability testing, and iteration, I helped shape avatar behavior that felt intuitive and emotionally resonant, resulting in strong user engagement and one of the platform's best-performing avatar interactions.

Interaction Design

Humor as an Interaction Hook

Designed avatars expressions for avatar stickers, transforming abstract emotional nuances into high-engagement visual assets to drive user adoption and daily active interaction.

Year :

2024

Industry :

Technology

Client :

Meta

Project Duration :

2 weeks

Problem :

Younger adult users showed low engagement with the platform's avatar system: stickers felt generic, avatars lacked emotional resonance, and there was little motivation to create or customize a personal avatar. The core interaction design question was how to make avatars feel more expressive and emotionally responsive so teens actually want to interact with them.

Solution :

I designed and animated a system of avatar interactions, including locomotion, reactive clothing behaviors, emotion-driven poses, and expressive sticker moments, that translated user research and trend insights into tangible micro-interactions. I made specific interaction decisions such as calibrating pose timing and hold duration so each sticker read instantly as a reaction, and mapping how the avatar responded differently across trigger states (idle, emotion change, clothing swap) to keep behavior consistent and legible. Working cross-functionally with UX researchers, artists, and engineers, I built interaction prototypes from low-fidelity blocking to high-fidelity motion, and iterated through multiple rounds of internal usability testing, refining timing, exaggeration, and readability until the interactions felt intuitive and delightful. One sticker in particular used humor as an interaction hook, becoming a standout example of the approach and resonating strongly with users.

Challenge :

Balancing emotional authenticity with technical constraints was the hardest part: every interaction had to read instantly, feel human, and align with a strict design system, while going through multiple stakeholder and review rounds. Translating qualitative research into concrete motion decisions, without formal UX training at the time, meant learning to advocate for interaction choices with reasoning and iteration rather than instinct alone. I was directly involved in brainstorming sessions and internal usability testing, and helped shape design changes based on that testing rather than only receiving research findings secondhand.

Summary :

This project became the bridge from animation into interaction design. It proved that motion, timing, and responsiveness are core UX tools, not just visual polish. Through hands-on participation in research synthesis, usability testing, and iteration, I helped shape avatar behavior that felt intuitive and emotionally resonant, resulting in strong user engagement and one of the platform's best-performing avatar interactions.

Interaction Design

Humor as an Interaction Hook

Designed avatars expressions for avatar stickers, transforming abstract emotional nuances into high-engagement visual assets to drive user adoption and daily active interaction.

Year :

2024

Industry :

Technology

Client :

Meta

Project Duration :

2 weeks

Problem :

Younger adult users showed low engagement with the platform's avatar system: stickers felt generic, avatars lacked emotional resonance, and there was little motivation to create or customize a personal avatar. The core interaction design question was how to make avatars feel more expressive and emotionally responsive so teens actually want to interact with them.

Solution :

I designed and animated a system of avatar interactions, including locomotion, reactive clothing behaviors, emotion-driven poses, and expressive sticker moments, that translated user research and trend insights into tangible micro-interactions. I made specific interaction decisions such as calibrating pose timing and hold duration so each sticker read instantly as a reaction, and mapping how the avatar responded differently across trigger states (idle, emotion change, clothing swap) to keep behavior consistent and legible. Working cross-functionally with UX researchers, artists, and engineers, I built interaction prototypes from low-fidelity blocking to high-fidelity motion, and iterated through multiple rounds of internal usability testing, refining timing, exaggeration, and readability until the interactions felt intuitive and delightful. One sticker in particular used humor as an interaction hook, becoming a standout example of the approach and resonating strongly with users.

Challenge :

Balancing emotional authenticity with technical constraints was the hardest part: every interaction had to read instantly, feel human, and align with a strict design system, while going through multiple stakeholder and review rounds. Translating qualitative research into concrete motion decisions, without formal UX training at the time, meant learning to advocate for interaction choices with reasoning and iteration rather than instinct alone. I was directly involved in brainstorming sessions and internal usability testing, and helped shape design changes based on that testing rather than only receiving research findings secondhand.

Summary :

This project became the bridge from animation into interaction design. It proved that motion, timing, and responsiveness are core UX tools, not just visual polish. Through hands-on participation in research synthesis, usability testing, and iteration, I helped shape avatar behavior that felt intuitive and emotionally resonant, resulting in strong user engagement and one of the platform's best-performing avatar interactions.