New Subscription Features
YEAR
2016
OVERVIEW
Designed a suite of premium features for FamilyAlbum — a private family social network — including AI-generated monthly stickers, family comments, visit icons, and granular sharing settings. Led the strategic framework for deciding what to add, preserve, or remove, resulting in 27% subscription conversion and contributing to the app reaching 20M+ users globally.
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROCESS
User interviews + team alignment — conducted ongoing user research alongside daily work to identify unmet needs
Explored implicit needs — developed surprise strategies to uncover desires users couldn't articulate in interviews
Documented everything openly — all ideas and feedback lived in a shared document accessible to everyone for comments and discussion
Adopted a structured hypothesis-driven framework:
Formulate hypotheses
Dig into the core of each hypothesis
Create prototypes
Test with real users or colleagues from other departments
Evaluate results against predefined criteria
Summarize findings
Decide: release or not
If releasing, share the plan with upper management
Execute the release
Used AI to generate stickers — transformed users' monthly uploaded photos into 8 personalized stickers, creating a new conversational primitive
KEY DESIGN DESICION
AI stickers from your own photos — converted uploaded family images into personalized stickers monthly, making them emotionally irreplaceable (vs. generic sticker packs anyone could use)
Family comments on albums — grandparents' and relatives' words preserved alongside photos, so users relive not just the moment but how it was appreciated at the time
Chronological visit icons — showing who viewed content added a layer of connection and fostered ongoing family engagement without requiring active posting
Granular sharing settings — not all photos are meant for everyone; users can customize visibility down to individual photos/videos, respecting family dynamics
Preserve before you innovate — adopted a framework of "maintain, discard, or introduce" rather than defaulting to "add more," protecting the simplicity users loved
OUTCOME
27% subscription conversion — AI stickers became the #1 driver of premium upgrades
20M+ users worldwide (as of Nov 2023, now 27M+)
Google Play Best of 2019 — Winner in "Best Entertainment App" AND "Users' Choice App"
Google Play Best of 2024 — Grand Prize in "Everyday Life Tools" category
Maintained 4.9★ rating — proving new features enhanced rather than disrupted the user experience
New Subscription Features
YEAR
2016
OVERVIEW
Designed a suite of premium features for FamilyAlbum — a private family social network — including AI-generated monthly stickers, family comments, visit icons, and granular sharing settings. Led the strategic framework for deciding what to add, preserve, or remove, resulting in 27% subscription conversion and contributing to the app reaching 20M+ users globally.
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROCESS
User interviews + team alignment — conducted ongoing user research alongside daily work to identify unmet needs
Explored implicit needs — developed surprise strategies to uncover desires users couldn't articulate in interviews
Documented everything openly — all ideas and feedback lived in a shared document accessible to everyone for comments and discussion
Adopted a structured hypothesis-driven framework:
Formulate hypotheses
Dig into the core of each hypothesis
Create prototypes
Test with real users or colleagues from other departments
Evaluate results against predefined criteria
Summarize findings
Decide: release or not
If releasing, share the plan with upper management
Execute the release
Used AI to generate stickers — transformed users' monthly uploaded photos into 8 personalized stickers, creating a new conversational primitive
KEY DESIGN DESICION
AI stickers from your own photos — converted uploaded family images into personalized stickers monthly, making them emotionally irreplaceable (vs. generic sticker packs anyone could use)
Family comments on albums — grandparents' and relatives' words preserved alongside photos, so users relive not just the moment but how it was appreciated at the time
Chronological visit icons — showing who viewed content added a layer of connection and fostered ongoing family engagement without requiring active posting
Granular sharing settings — not all photos are meant for everyone; users can customize visibility down to individual photos/videos, respecting family dynamics
Preserve before you innovate — adopted a framework of "maintain, discard, or introduce" rather than defaulting to "add more," protecting the simplicity users loved
OUTCOME
27% subscription conversion — AI stickers became the #1 driver of premium upgrades
20M+ users worldwide (as of Nov 2023, now 27M+)
Google Play Best of 2019 — Winner in "Best Entertainment App" AND "Users' Choice App"
Google Play Best of 2024 — Grand Prize in "Everyday Life Tools" category
Maintained 4.9★ rating — proving new features enhanced rather than disrupted the user experience
New Subscription Features
YEAR
2016
OVERVIEW
Designed a suite of premium features for FamilyAlbum — a private family social network — including AI-generated monthly stickers, family comments, visit icons, and granular sharing settings. Led the strategic framework for deciding what to add, preserve, or remove, resulting in 27% subscription conversion and contributing to the app reaching 20M+ users globally.
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
FamilyAlbum was a beloved free app — but its value lay in simplicity. Updating too aggressively risked breaking what users loved
The team needed to drive subscription revenue without compromising the app's emotional, low-pressure character
Some features' value came from their original design — updating them could reduce appeal
Deciding what to update vs. what to preserve was the core design challenge — not just "what to build next"
Different stakeholders (designers, engineers, users, marketers) naturally prioritized different things, creating decision-making friction
PROCESS
User interviews + team alignment — conducted ongoing user research alongside daily work to identify unmet needs
Explored implicit needs — developed surprise strategies to uncover desires users couldn't articulate in interviews
Documented everything openly — all ideas and feedback lived in a shared document accessible to everyone for comments and discussion
Adopted a structured hypothesis-driven framework:
Formulate hypotheses
Dig into the core of each hypothesis
Create prototypes
Test with real users or colleagues from other departments
Evaluate results against predefined criteria
Summarize findings
Decide: release or not
If releasing, share the plan with upper management
Execute the release
Used AI to generate stickers — transformed users' monthly uploaded photos into 8 personalized stickers, creating a new conversational primitive
KEY DESIGN DESICION
AI stickers from your own photos — converted uploaded family images into personalized stickers monthly, making them emotionally irreplaceable (vs. generic sticker packs anyone could use)
Family comments on albums — grandparents' and relatives' words preserved alongside photos, so users relive not just the moment but how it was appreciated at the time
Chronological visit icons — showing who viewed content added a layer of connection and fostered ongoing family engagement without requiring active posting
Granular sharing settings — not all photos are meant for everyone; users can customize visibility down to individual photos/videos, respecting family dynamics
Preserve before you innovate — adopted a framework of "maintain, discard, or introduce" rather than defaulting to "add more," protecting the simplicity users loved
OUTCOME
27% subscription conversion — AI stickers became the #1 driver of premium upgrades
20M+ users worldwide (as of Nov 2023, now 27M+)
Google Play Best of 2019 — Winner in "Best Entertainment App" AND "Users' Choice App"
Google Play Best of 2024 — Grand Prize in "Everyday Life Tools" category
Maintained 4.9★ rating — proving new features enhanced rather than disrupted the user experience