Head of UX/UI
At Birda, the first community app for birdwatchers, I shaped the UX/UI strategy, transforming how people connect with nature through intuitive and engaging experiences. My work was deeply rooted in understanding user needs and identifying key problems to solve, ensuring continuous product improvement. This focus on user experience and innovation contributed to Birda earning App of the Day recognition in 148 countries.
Birda
Key Contributions
Led the UX/UI strategy for a community-driven birdwatching app, shaping user-centered designs that contributed to its recognition as App of the Day in 148 countries in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Designed and developed user flows and interfaces for new AI-driven bird identification features—photos, sounds, and search—transforming and improving the app’s core functionality.
Conducted in-depth user research, including interviews with users from around the world (UK, USA, Australia, South Africa, Spain, and more), usability testing, and data analysis to drive user-centered design decisions and improve overall user experience.
Organised workshops with users and cross-functional teams to align goals, foster innovation, and develop actionable design solutions.
Created and optimized end-to-end user flows, from onboarding to core features, ensuring seamless navigation and user engagement to drive measurable growth.
Delivered adaptable UX and UI solutions in a dynamic environment, prioritizing iterative improvements to enhance app functionality and deliver an exceptional user experience.
Collaborated closely with product, marketing, and engineering teams to deliver user-centered updates, translating insights into impactful product improvements.
App of the Day
App Store - Reviews
4.8 out of 5
Workshops
Driving Innovation Through Collaboration
Workshops are an essential part of my process for designing meaningful experiences. Whether through SWOT analysis, persona development, co-design sessions, or user feedback workshops, I use these sessions to uncover real user needs, validate ideas, and refine product concepts.
Spending time with users is invaluable—it allows me to go beyond data points and truly understand their behaviors, frustrations, and motivations. By collaborating closely with both users and cross-functional teams, I ensure that every feature we build is intuitive, impactful, and deeply connected to how people engage with the product.
This hands-on, user-centered approach ensures that from research to ideation and prototyping, we create experiences that genuinely meet user needs while driving meaningful engagement.
Projects
Onboarding
Creating a Personalized Welcome: The Redesigned Onboarding Experience
Joining a new app should feel exciting, not overwhelming. With Birda, we wanted to ensure that every new user felt welcomed and understood from their very first interaction. Our onboarding experience wasn’t just about collecting information—it was about guiding users into the world of birdwatching in a way that felt intuitive, personal, and inspiring.
I designed the new onboarding flow to introduce users to Birda in a more meaningful and engaging way. Instead of a generic sign-up process, we asked thoughtful questions about their experience level, interests, and motivations. This allowed us to tailor their journey, ensuring they discovered the right features, content, and community connections from the start.
By creating a seamless, user-friendly flow, we not only improved retention but also deepened engagement—helping both beginners and seasoned birders feel instantly at home within the Birda community.
2. Photo ID
Enhancing Bird Identification with AI-Powered Photo ID
Birdwatchers often spot birds they can’t immediately identify, and many users requested a way to make identification easier. To address this need, I led the UX process for Photo ID, an AI-powered feature that allows users to identify birds simply by taking or uploading a photo.
Through user research, interviews, and workshops, I gathered insights into how birdwatchers approach identification and what would make the experience more seamless. I designed intuitive user flows that guide users through the identification process, ensuring clarity at every step—from uploading a photo to receiving AI-powered suggestions.
This feature transforms the birdwatching experience by making identification effortless, educational, and more engaging. The AI processes the image and suggests possible species, helping users log their sightings with ease while learning more about the birds they encounter.
Photo ID quickly became one of the most popular features in the app, empowering both beginners and experienced birders to deepen their connection with nature.
3. Birda+
Birda+: Enhancing the Birdwatching Experience
To provide more value to our most engaged users, we introduced Birda+, a premium subscription designed to deepen the birdwatching experience. My role was to create the end-to-end UX/UI for all Birda+ features, ensuring a seamless integration into the app while enhancing user engagement and retention. This included designing the flows for new premium features, the subscription experience, and the onboarding process for Birda+ users.
Through extensive user research, I designed intuitive flows that allowed users to organize their sightings, track their progress, and connect with nature in a more meaningful way—all while ensuring a smooth upgrade path to the premium experience. From Unlimited Photo ID for seamless bird identification to Custom Lists, Private Challenges, Goals, and Personalized Profiles, I focused on making each feature feel intuitive, rewarding, and seamlessly integrated into the user’s journey.
By focusing on user needs and business objectives, I helped shape Birda+ as a compelling offering, balancing engagement-driven features with a clear, user-friendly subscription model.
4. Goals
Helping Users Build Habits with Goals in Birda
Through countless user conversations and ongoing feedback, I discovered a recurring challenge: while many birdwatchers loved logging their sightings, they often struggled to stay consistent. They wanted a structured way to build habits, track progress, and stay motivated over time—whether that meant spotting a certain number of birds per week, spending more time outdoors, or deepening their connection with nature.
With this insight, I designed the Goals feature—an intuitive way for users to set personalized, trackable milestones that encourage regular engagement.
By giving users the ability to set and track goals, I aimed to:
Encourage regular birdwatching and exploration.
Help users develop long-term habits, like identifying more species or committing to more time in nature.
Provide a sense of achievement through progress tracking and milestones.
Make birdwatching more interactive and rewarding, ultimately leading to deeper engagement with the app and nature.
Since launching, Goals has become one of the most loved features in Birda. Users appreciate how it gives them a sense of purpose, keeps them motivated, and transforms birdwatching from an occasional activity into a habit they actively nurture. This feature not only enhances user engagement but also reinforces Birda’s mission of fostering a deeper connection between people and the natural world.
5. Past Sessions
Enjoy the Moment, Record It Later
One of the most requested features from our users was the ability to log birdwatching sessions after they happened. Many birdwatchers wanted to be fully present in nature—listening to birds, observing behaviors, and capturing photos—without the distraction of logging sightings in real time.
To address this, I designed the Past Sessions feature, giving users the flexibility to record their birdwatching experiences at their convenience. The flow was crafted to be intuitive and effortless, allowing users to quickly add key details such as date, time, location, and species observed, ensuring their records remain accurate and complete without unnecessary friction.
By prioritizing ease of use and seamless integration, this feature allows users to effortlessly relive and document their birding moments whenever they’re ready—without disrupting their time in nature.
6. Web
Challenges