Background
When I first joined Google, I chose to work on the Waze Ads team because of my experience with enterprise-level desktop and mobile platforms. (Google acquired Waze in 2013.) Waze Ads was sunset in September 2023, with advertising efforts transitioning to Google’s Performance Max.
My Role
• Led UX strategy and product design efforts across the Waze Ads platform
• Created a unified experience for small and mid-sized advertisers, reducing friction and driving product adoption
• Developed the Waze Ads design system, aligned with Google’s Material Design
• Partnered with PMs, engineers, and researchers to execute user-centered improvements at speed and scale
Background
When I first joined Google, I chose to work on the Waze Ads team because of my experience with enterprise-level desktop and mobile platforms. (Google acquired Waze in 2013.) Waze Ads was sunset in September 2023, with advertising efforts transitioning to Google’s Performance Max.
My Role
• Led UX strategy and product design efforts across the Waze Ads platform
• Created a unified experience for small and mid-sized advertisers, reducing friction and driving product adoption
• Developed the Waze Ads design system, aligned with Google’s Material Design
• Partnered with PMs, engineers, and researchers to execute user-centered improvements at speed and scale
Background
When I first joined Google, I chose to work on the Waze Ads team because of my experience with enterprise-level desktop and mobile platforms. (Google acquired Waze in 2013.) Waze Ads was sunset in September 2023, with advertising efforts transitioning to Google’s Performance Max.
My Role
• Led UX strategy and product design efforts across the Waze Ads platform
• Created a unified experience for small and mid-sized advertisers, reducing friction and driving product adoption
• Developed the Waze Ads design system, aligned with Google’s Material Design
• Partnered with PMs, engineers, and researchers to execute user-centered improvements at speed and scale
Waze Wizard- Help Center Access
Problem
Users wanted to contact sales reps during onboarding but had no clear access to support. Only 6 calls/week were being made.
Solution
• Designed a help module integrated into the wizard
• Surfaced contextual help topics at each step
• Made support phone numbers visible without disrupting user flow
Impact
• Projected +15% increase in help center usage
• Expected boost in conversion by improving user understanding
Waze Wizard- Help Center Access
Problem
Users wanted to contact sales reps during onboarding but had no clear access to support. Only 6 calls/week were being made.
Solution
• Designed a help module integrated into the wizard
• Surfaced contextual help topics at each step
• Made support phone numbers visible without disrupting user flow
Impact
• Projected +15% increase in help center usage
• Expected boost in conversion by improving user understanding
New Advertiser Onboarding Flow
1. Revamped the entire onboarding journey—from landing page to checkout.
2. Designed a seamless login and account linking experience to support both legacy Waze credentials and Google sign-ins.
Highlights
• Delivered detailed user flows for different account types
• Enabled users to connect Waze accounts using non-Google emails
• Maintained backward compatibility for long-time users.
• Conducted lean usability testing and A/B experiments on a tight timeline
Impact
• Success rate increased from 69% to 90%
• Account conversions improved by 10%
New Advertiser Onboarding Flow
1. Revamped the entire onboarding journey—from landing page to checkout.
2. Designed a seamless login and account linking experience to support both legacy Waze credentials and Google sign-ins.
Highlights
• Delivered detailed user flows for different account types
• Enabled users to connect Waze accounts using non-Google emails
• Maintained backward compatibility for long-time users.
• Conducted lean usability testing and A/B experiments on a tight timeline
Impact
• Success rate increased from 69% to 90%
• Account conversions improved by 10%
New Advertiser Onboarding Flow
1. Revamped the entire onboarding journey—from landing page to checkout.
2. Designed a seamless login and account linking experience to support both legacy Waze credentials and Google sign-ins.
Highlights
• Delivered detailed user flows for different account types
• Enabled users to connect Waze accounts using non-Google emails
• Maintained backward compatibility for long-time users.
• Conducted lean usability testing and A/B experiments on a tight timeline
Impact
• Success rate increased from 69% to 90%
• Account conversions improved by 10%
Ad Dashboard: Create Location
Problem
• New users didn’t understand key concepts (e.g., CPM, deep links, tags)
• Required multiple steps to preview an ad
• Complex UI with irrelevant fields for SMB and PSO users
Solution
• Introduced a real-time ad preview experience
• Removed unnecessary fields and simplified copy
Impact
•15% increase in SMB-created locations
Ad Dashboard: Create Location
Problem
• New users didn’t understand key concepts (e.g., CPM, deep links, tags)
• Required multiple steps to preview an ad
• Complex UI with irrelevant fields for SMB and PSO users
Solution
• Introduced a real-time ad preview experience
• Removed unnecessary fields and simplified copy
Impact
•15% increase in SMB-created locations
Ad Dashboard: Overview Experience
Redesigned the dashboard to create a consistent UX across user types and clarify where to complete tasks.
Impact
• User satisfaction score improved to 6.0/7.0
• Enhanced campaign management tasks (budgeting, targeting, reporting)
• Helped shift team workflows to InVision for faster feedback and iteration
Ad Dashboard: Overview Experience
Redesigned the dashboard to create a consistent UX across user types and clarify where to complete tasks.
Impact
• User satisfaction score improved to 6.0/7.0
• Enhanced campaign management tasks (budgeting, targeting, reporting)
• Helped shift team workflows to InVision for faster feedback and iteration
Waze Ads Style Guide
Waze had multiple conflicting design systems. I led the effort to consolidate them into one.
Contributions
• Ran user studies to understand brand perception
• Merged Waze branding with Google Material Design
• Created a component library to streamline collaboration with engineering
Waze Ads Style Guide
Waze had multiple conflicting design systems. I led the effort to consolidate them into one.
Contributions
• Ran user studies to understand brand perception
• Merged Waze branding with Google Material Design
• Created a component library to streamline collaboration with engineering
Budget & Pricing Tool
Problem
• Users didn’t understand how budget changes affected reach
• Couldn’t switch between monthly and daily budgeting
• 16% drop-off between the budget and ad creation steps
Solution
• Researched industry patterns for dynamic budget tools
• Designed new UI showing estimated reach and flexible budget options
• Ran hallway tests to validate and iterate designs
Budget & Pricing Tool
Problem
• Users didn’t understand how budget changes affected reach
• Couldn’t switch between monthly and daily budgeting
• 16% drop-off between the budget and ad creation steps
Solution
• Researched industry patterns for dynamic budget tools
• Designed new UI showing estimated reach and flexible budget options
• Ran hallway tests to validate and iterate designs
