Digital fashion, virtual avatars, augmented reality, and unbridled creativity.
An avatar creation app, where users can create life-like versions of themselves, providing a level of representation rarely seen in the gaming and digital world.
Credits:
Founder: Mica Le John
CPO: Michael Taylor
3D Artists: Carol Civre, Sarah Nicole François, Indira Ardolic
Software Engineers: Jason Jahn, Tiago Magalhães, Ricardo Santos
Product Designer: Colin Kronholm
Graphic Designer: Gabrielle Rosenstein
Overview
I worked with Idoru first in 2021 as a User & Brand Research Intern. My work focused on growing out an early-access list, conducting user interviews, creating personas, and forming initial brand partnership strategy.
In 2022, I returned as the sole product designer. We drove the product to a public beta launch, and I was involved in every step, from planning to finalizing designs. Specifically, I mapped out the app's information architecture and designed each new interface and UI elements, based on the CPO's instruction.
Branding
Inspired by retro-futurism, fuzzy textures, and an unconventional color palette.
Information architecture
First, we needed to create the structure of the app. We mapped out each page, category, and subcategory. Then, I designed lo-fi wireframes and mockups for each individual screen in the app.
Onboarding
We didn't want users to start with a default or totally randomized avatar. So, the defined goal? Get users to quickly create a rough starting point, rather than a final avatar. After all, that's what the rest of the app was for.
Carousels
We accomplished avatar creation through a number of ways. Using carousels, users could cycle through different items, styles, and colors.
Outfit
Users could dress their avatars in digital fashion, from popular brands to basics. With a limited inventory, we opted for categories, like "Tops" and "Bottoms" with corresponding carousels of clothing for each.
Control Points
Through control points, users could edit the granular details of their avatars. I planned and organized the functionality and placement of each control point across the avatar's face and body.
Brand Partnerships
Every piece of digital fashion was crafted in collaboration with brands like Phlemuns and Dydoshop. We created a pop-up feature so that users could learn more about the clothes that their avatars are styled in.
Camera
Optimized for content creation. Using AR, users could drag, pinch, and rotate their avatars in the context of their space. They could adjust the lighting, choose fun poses, and easily take photos for socials.
Results
Thanks to our team's quick, coordinated work, we launched a beta version in January of 2023, sooner than anticipated. We got to witness hundreds of users create content and share their avatars across social media.
Idoru avatars were…
…in bedrooms, on rooftops, in Dazed Magazine, in Korea, on a cloud, in the desert, and in Vogue.
Takeaways and Next Steps
My experience at Idoru was invaluable.
As the sole product designer, I got to plan and design the app from its inception to a public beta launch. I designed the entire digital experience from scratch, from an AR camera to a virtual dressing room.
Hundreds of users created Idoru avatars that looked and dressed just like them. It verified that the beta version of our product was not only usable but also realized the goal of allowing for incredibly detailed customization of one's virtual avatar.
Most of all, I'm grateful to have worked on a product that centered women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ individuals and on a team that acted with intention at every step of the design process.
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kronholmcolin@gmail.com
Los Angeles, California
Colin Kronholm © 2024