Volume Stories App
Project Overview: At Volume Stories, I transitioned from graphic design to product design, working directly with my boss Jonah to design the company’s mobile app and web platform. This was my introduction to product design and one of the most formative experiences of my design career.
The Learning Journey
When I joined Volume Stories, I was already working as a designer at the company. But I wanted to explore product design—designing experiences, not just graphics. When I expressed this interest, Jonah took me under his wing and we started collaborating on the app design together.
Learning Figma & Product Design
Jonah started by teaching me the basics of Figma and introducing me to the principles of product design. Coming from a graphic design background, this was a whole new world. We would have regular brainstorming sessions where he’d walk me through his design process, teaching me how to think about user flows, interaction patterns, and designing for functionality.
The Startup Design Process
Being an extremely early-stage startup, our design process was fast and scrappy. We didn’t spend much time on extensive UX research or high-fidelity documentation. Instead, we’d:
- Quick Wireframes: Draw extremely low-fidelity wireframes to map out the basic structure
- Straight to Mockups: Jump directly into designing the final mockups in Figma
- Rapid Iteration: Test with the team, get feedback, and iterate quickly
This approach taught me to be decisive and move fast while still maintaining quality in the final designs.
The Design Work
Below are some of the screens and features I designed for the Volume Stories app:
App interface showcasing the storytelling platform
New Features I Designed
I was responsible for designing several new screens and features from scratch, including:
- Content Discovery Feed: Designed the main feed where users discover new stories
- Reading Experience: Created the in-app reading interface optimized for mobile
- Creator Dashboard: Designed tools for content creators to manage their stories
- Profile & Settings: Built out user profile pages and account settings
- Onboarding Flow: Designed the new user onboarding experience
Updating Existing Screens
I also redesigned and improved existing screens to enhance the user experience:
- Refined navigation patterns for better usability
- Updated visual hierarchy to improve content discoverability
- Redesigned interactive elements for better touch targets on mobile
- Improved typography and spacing for better readability
The Impact
This was one of the best experiences of my design career because I got to design features that directly impacted customer value.
Working at a startup meant that what I designed would be built and shipped to real users within weeks. I could see the direct impact of my design decisions on the product and the people using it. This tight feedback loop between design and implementation taught me more about product design than any course could.
What I Learned
Working with Jonah and designing for Volume Stories taught me:
- Product Thinking: How to think beyond visuals and consider user needs, business goals, and technical constraints
- Speed & Quality: How to work fast without sacrificing quality
- Collaboration: How to work effectively with developers and other stakeholders
- Figma Mastery: Became proficient in industry-standard design tools
- User-Centered Design: Always keeping the end user in mind while designing
This experience solidified my passion for product design and set the foundation for my career in designing digital products.
Company: Volume Stories
Role: Product Designer
Mentor: Jonah