Role: Senior UX UI Designer, Product
Overview
Goal: MediaLab was relying on a third-party live streaming SDK from the MeetMe app under The Meet Group, which consumed 30% of revenue, with Apple and Google taking an additional 30%. The goal was to build an internal product design and development team around my Product Manager and myself as the Product Designer to create a new in-house LIVE feature—eliminating dependency on the external SDK, reducing costs, and giving MediaLab full control over its user experience and monetization.
Challenge: I was new to the social media and live streaming space, unfamiliar with the rapidly evolving ecosystem of creators, contributors, viewers, and virtual gifting that was thriving in Asian markets. To bridge this gap, I conducted extensive research into leading platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat, Twitch, YouTube,and Reddit to understand their engagement models, streaming features, personas, and community dynamics.
A major challenge was that an engineering team was never successfully established, which meant the project lacked the technical support needed to implement, test, or iterate on designs. This created a significant gap between design vision and product execution. Despite these constraints, I focused on defining the core features and delivering a proof-of-concept prototype that aligned with industry standards and user expectations—positioning the project for future development once technical resources could be secured.
Solution: After researching competitors, including the MeetMe app, I collaborated with my Product Manager to create a minimum viable product as a proof of concept for a new in-house LIVE feature. I designed comprehensive user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and design paradigms with measurable outcomes while simultaneously helping to build the engineering team. The experience covered key user journeys such as finding and joining a LIVE stream, starting and ending a stream, chatting, gifting, managing groups and channels, exploring various LIVE modes, and integrating monetization and interactive games—all forming the foundation for MediaLab’s scalable LIVE ecosystem.
Outcome: After a year and a half of development, I delivered a fully interactive Figma prototype showcasing the complete LIVE platform concept. Although the engineering team was never formed and the project wasn’t built, the proof of concept validated the design direction and served as a strong foundation for future in-house LIVE streaming initiatives.
The goal was to create a proof of concept prototype for a SDK LIVE feature and user experience tools for creators for MediaLabs brands (Genius, Imgur, World Star, Kik, datPiff, Amino, Whisper). I started researching competitor apps.
At the same time the developers team was integrating and partnering with The Meet Group (TMG) and their LIVE streaming SDK.
Using inspiration for TMG's LIVE streaming tool kit in the MeetMe app, I thought about if we were to design our own...How do we fit in that differs from what's already out there? What is our design language that would be consistent for the varying brands and properties in MediaLab?
Wireframe Ideation
Research and Wireframe Ideation for a MediaLab LIVE features included:
Finding & Joining a LIVE Stream
Starting & Ending a LIVE Stream
Chatting in a LIVE Stream
Gifting in a LIVE Stream
Groups & Channels
Various LIVE Modes
Monetization & Games
Finding a Stream
To find a stream, I decided it would be best to create a home page to search and discover LIVE streams.
Intro to Feature
Contributors Home Page
LIVE Event
Chanels and Groups
Detail of Chanel
Starting a Stream
Starting a stream involved a bit more planning. We wanted to narrow down the proof of concept to a few key features that would be required to start a stream.
Start a Stream
Pick a Mode
LIVE Stream
Battle Mode
End a Stream Results
Proof of Concept Prototype v.01
