Company:
Role:
UX/UI Designer
Duration:
8 months (May 2023 — Dec 2023)
Worked on Moda AI while enrolled in my UX/UI bootcamp, balancing real-world product design with hands-on learning.
Led UX/UI and visual design across the product and brand — from early concepts to stakeholder-ready prototypes.
Collaborated with engineers and leadership to design and iterate on a conversational shopping experience.
Transform online shopping from search-based to conversation-led, making product discovery feel natural and seamless.
We studied shopping behavior, partnered with a large e-commerce retailer, and identified friction points with traditional search.
Users liked the idea of conversational discovery, but didn’t trust it to work well yet.
That told us we needed to meet them where they were: with interfaces that felt familiar, not disruptive.
We talked with online shoppers to understand how they search, get overwhelmed, and what they wish worked better.
Collaborated with a major retailer to align the product with real-world platform needs and business goals.
Tested dual-search and chat flows with users to measure clarity, trust, and engagement across different interaction models.
The partner we worked with, a major e-commerce retailer, wanted to keep their traditional search experience intact.
We needed to introduce AI in a way that felt optional, trustworthy, and non-disruptive to existing user behavior.
Introduce AI product discovery without disrupting the traditional search experience trusted by users and the business.
Moda AI aimed to create a smarter, more supportive shopping experience. One that could start with an idea like “I need an outfit for a wedding in Santa Barbara” and guide users to tailored product suggestions.
The experience needed to be seamless, non-intrusive, and work across existing e-commerce sites.
My role was to make that interaction feel intuitive, useful, and brand-consistent.
To make AI-powered product discovery accessible and adaptable, I explored four distinct interfaces, each tailored to a different user mindset and integration need.
A floating chat assistant embedded within product listing pages.
This interface felt familiar, like Intercom or customer support, and allowed users to ask for help or browse recommendations without leaving the current page.
Designed with a branded icon and tone to feel helpful, not interruptive.
A minimized tab for ShopGPT sat alongside the product listing page, subtly branded and easy to ignore or explore.
When expanded, it opened a full-screen AI search, temporarily pushing down the listings to give the chat space.
This gave users control over when and how to engage with AI, without disrupting their default flow.
AI and traditional search shared a single input field, with a toggle to choose between them.
It blended both approaches into one familiar interface, no new layout, just new behavior.
Only when users selected ShopGPT did the flow transition into a conversational results page.
A fully conversational experience for users starting with a vague idea like “I need a dress for a beach wedding.”
The interface responded with smart product suggestions, embedded visuals, memory, and saved items.
This was the most immersive version of Moda’s product vision.
Moda needed to feel intelligent, trustworthy, and helpful, without being loud or gimmicky.
I created a soft, modern visual identity and UI system that translated across the product and website.
The tone was clear and supportive, helping users feel like they had a guide, not another tool to learn.
We built a lightweight, flexible marketing site that could evolve as the product did.
It was easy to update as priorities shifted, from demo signup to partner presentations.
Graphics were just as flexible: lightweight, dynamic, and designed to support the story without overshadowing the product.
Designing for a stakeholder with evolving needs taught me to stay flexible and move fast.
Their requirements shifted as new priorities and perspectives emerged, so I created multiple interface options and iterated quickly based on feedback.
It was a lesson in adaptability and in designing within real-world constraints.
I would have explored voice input, visual search, and more personalization based on past shopping behavior.
I also would’ve liked to test how users respond to more expressive AI tone: friendlier, bolder, or more consultative, emulating the feel of a friendly in-store agent.
