Summary

A global initiative to develop a hub for Sony PlayStation. A hub designed to manage game development projects and integrate with the PlayStation Store.

Role

• Senior Product Designer

Skills

• User Research
• Information Architecture
• User Experience/Testing
• Prototyping

Tools

• OmniGraffle
• JIRA + Confluence
• Axure RP
• Sketch + Invision + Zepplin

The Challenge

I embarked on a thrilling seven-month journey, joining a mission to create a groundbreaking system for Sony™ —a global hub capable of orchestrating the vast expanse of PlayStation™ games. This wasn't just any project but the backbone for managing game development projects worldwide and seamlessly integrating with the Sony PlayStation™ Store.

Sony Interactive is the main stakeholder in this project, and the platform was built to enhance collaboration with the world's biggest gaming companies.

First things first.

The project started with a crucial phase: comprehending the requirements and expectations and agreeing on what we were set to deliver.

This initial step was far from simple. The platform involved over ten distinct user roles, each with specific rights, permissions, and access to various features. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn the internal processes and, more importantly, how to collaborate as a team.

"Wiring" the flows.

Once the requirements were locked down and user flow diagrams meticulously crafted, we dove into wireframing.

Each user journey was meticulously transformed into tangible prototypes, brought to life one at a time. Our design philosophy was rigorously applied through continuous critique sessions, where every concept and solution was tested.

We didn't just settle for good enough; our designs were honed and refined until they stood unchallenged, validated by real user feedback.

Bringing the Vision to Life.

Once the prototypes received the green light, we transitioned the prototypes into the production phase.

I was pivotal in ensuring the interface assets were perfectly harmonised with the UI Style Guide. Every component was meticulously arranged on a grid, from how content interacts with users to our choice of colours, typography, and icons. This careful orchestration guaranteed that each element seamlessly integrated with the platform's overall features, maintaining a consistent and intuitive user experience.

The Result

This project was a profound journey of growth for me. Over seven months, I found myself at the heart of a monumental effort that touched the lives of millions globally and made friends for life.

The complexity of this endeavour demanded unparalleled team collaboration and leadership, elements that significantly enriched my professional experience. The opportunity to work alongside and connect with leading professionals in the field was invaluable. Thank you, Andy Iosifescu and Brandon Botha, and thank you, Jay Suthar.

Man smiling in black and white portrait.

Andy Iosifescu • Product Designer, Certified Product Owner • Vodafone

A passionate and resourceful designer, Alin has the ability of finding positive approaches to problem solving no matter how hard the task at hand is.
His skills have polished over the years, having being faced with real world challenges but also by a personal drive to improve and persevere. Both a master of soft skills and a passionate technologist, Alin expertise and positive approach is a guarantee that projects outcomes will improve with incremental changes that will change team morale and understanding, ultimately resulting in better products reaching their target audience.

Jay Suthar • Product & Service Designer • Manual Health

I worked with Alin on the Sony PlayStation content pipeline project. Alin has a relaxed, honest, friendly attitude which makes collaborating with him extremely easy and enjoyable. He very curious about science, technology, human behaviour so there was always interesting topics to discuss with him daily. He is great fun to work.

Even during peak delivery phases on the project Alin always reminded focused, detailed, endeavouring to have all the UX flows, wireframes and visuals to their complete, aligned standards for Sony and BAs. One of his key contributions was introducing a change log with files to track frequent updates to wireframes made by multiple designers due to changing business requirements. It aided greatly in documenting reasonings on each iteration leading up to sign off.

He is passionate about great, no fuss user experience (and tasty fresh food!). He is switched on to technology trends and sharing insights into how he imagines the user interaction with the brand, its services and products is transforming. He will surely be a great member to an organisation looking to explore, develop new levels of user experience.