GoPro Connect

GoPro Connect

GoPro Connect

ROLE

Principal UX
Principal UX

Platforms

Entire Ecosystem
Entire Ecosystem

launched

2022
2022

ProJECT Duration

3 - 4 Weeks
3 - 4 Weeks
SHORTLY AFTER I JOINED GOPRO'S CAMERA CONNECTIVITY TEAM, OUR PRODUCT MANAGER LEFT... SO I FILLED THAT ROLE TOO.
SHORTLY AFTER I JOINED GOPRO'S CAMERA CONNECTIVITY TEAM, OUR PRODUCT MANAGER LEFT... SO I FILLED THAT ROLE TOO.

I assumed responsibility for product management while continuing to lead design, working with engineering leads across BOSS, SSDK, Firmware, and Hardware to define the strategy for GoPro's connected camera experience. Together we rethought everything from connection sequencing and troubleshooting to connected-state feedback and camera controls, improving reliability while creating a more capable experience for customers. Once we established a plan, I pitched the vision to senior leadership and coordinated with program directors, QA, and engineers. I became a one-stop shop - from ideation, to Figma specs, to Jira epics and release notes.


The initiative became GoPro's largest software investment at the time and ultimately drove significant increases in camera-related subscriptions, connection success metrics, and CSAT scores.

Rainy Ride
Designing for wearables

The connectivity improvements were extended to a wearables program - initially targeting the Apple Watch.

The connectivity improvements were extended to a wearables program - initially targeting the Apple Watch.

Rick O’Connell

Novice 360 User

"360 videos always end up looking sort of warped."
Ellie Sattler

360 Camera Owner

"360 can be cool, but it's a lot of work to get something usable out of it."
Ellie Sattler

360 Camera Owner

"360 can be cool, but it's a lot of work to get something usable out of it."
Kate Mccallister

Influencer

"I wish there were some automated modes or AI or something to speed up my workflow"
Kate Mccallister

Influencer

"I wish there were some automated modes or AI or something to speed up my workflow"
Creating an End-to-End 360 Ecosystem
360 media is a bit of a unicorn. Every step of the user-journey - from capture to export - is different than with traditional media, and potentially more complicated. This meant that the entire GoPro ecosystem needed to be considered and potentially reworked specifically for 360, in an attempt to anticipate and smooth every step of what is often considered by users to be an intimidating workflow. It also meant that, while internal convention was to own a single area of the app or hardware experience, I needed to own the entire 360 ecosystem. Working across initiative teams, I coordinated decisions from camera to cloud to editing to export, maintaining the integrity of the system as a whole rather than optimizing each touchpoint in isolation.
360 media is a bit of a unicorn. Every step of the user-journey - from capture to export - is different than with traditional media, and potentially more complicated. This meant that the entire GoPro ecosystem needed to be considered and potentially reworked specifically for 360, in an attempt to anticipate and smooth every step of what is often considered by users to be an intimidating workflow. It also meant that, while internal convention was to own a single area of the app or hardware experience, I needed to own the entire 360 ecosystem. Working across initiative teams, I coordinated decisions from camera to cloud to editing to export, maintaining the integrity of the system as a whole rather than optimizing each touchpoint in isolation.
The GoPro Quik app wasn't originally architected for modern 360 workflows. As engineering teams retrofitted the platform throughout development, product strategy had to evolve alongside it. As a tech mentor of mine once instilled in me: "innovation requires more flexibility than convention does, and a willingness to adapt." From the outset, my role extended beyond design - and that challenge intensified as constraints emerged mid-development. I worked alongside engineering leaders across mobile, firmware, backend, cloud infrastructure, and media pipelines to translate technical realities into product direction. Every major architectural decision (and even most minor UI changes) required balancing user value, implementation complexity, and long-term extensibility, often forcing us to rethink not just individual features, but the shape of the product itself. Together, we aligned leadership around a simple principle: if we couldn't go broad, we'd go deep. Rather than pursuing parity with competitors across every capability, we focused our investment on the efforts that would make MAX 2's end-to-end experience feel unmistakably best in class.
The GoPro Quik app wasn't originally architected for modern 360 workflows. As engineering teams retrofitted the platform throughout development, product strategy had to evolve alongside it. As a tech mentor of mine once instilled in me: "innovation requires more flexibility than convention does, and a willingness to adapt." From the outset, my role extended beyond design - and that challenge intensified as constraints emerged mid-development. I worked alongside engineering leaders across mobile, firmware, backend, cloud infrastructure, and media pipelines to translate technical realities into product direction. Every major architectural decision (and even most minor UI changes) required balancing user value, implementation complexity, and long-term extensibility, often forcing us to rethink not just individual features, but the shape of the product itself. Together, we aligned leadership around a simple principle: if we couldn't go broad, we'd go deep. Rather than pursuing parity with competitors across every capability, we focused our investment on the efforts that would make MAX 2's end-to-end experience feel unmistakably best in class.
Intent-driven Experience

Creator-tuned Selfie/POV stabilization and framing, coupled with a digital stitching process that removes the selfie stick, allowed us to deliver an experience where users didn't have to interpret settings into a result - they could simply pick an intent, and the system responded, at every touchpoint from capture to export.

Keyframing

set the view precisely where you want it, moment by moment.

Object Tracking

Effortlessly follow and focus on subjects anywhere around the camera.

MOTIONFRAME

Tilt and move your mobile device to steer the view.

Camera FX

Add pro-level motion with effects like Spin, Flip, Roll, Wobble, Tiny Planet and more.

Horizon Lock

Keep the horizon level, even when the camera rotates.

Direction Lock

Keep the direction locked, even when the camera spins.

Let'S make

something amazing

BASED IN

Oregon

Principal UX
+ product designer

I am an infinitely curious problem solver and digital designer with decades of experience shipping software products to millions of users.

Let'S make

something amazing

BASED IN

Oregon

Principal UX
+ product designer

I am an infinitely curious problem solver and digital designer with decades of experience shipping software products to millions of users.

Let'S make

something amazing

Man

I am an infinitely curious problem solver and digital designer with decades of experience shipping software products to millions of users.

Let'S make

something amazing

BASED IN

Oregon

Principal UX
+ product designer

I am an infinitely curious problem solver and digital designer with decades of experience shipping software products to millions of users.