Improving the Endless Computer

Chronicles of my work during my 2 years at Endless: Leading a design system, designing apps, conducting research in Indonesia.

The Challenge

Computing and the Internet are essential tools to build digital literacy skills, but half the planet is left out. 4.5 billion people don’t have access to desktop computers, and most existing technological solutions aren’t designed for people living in emerging markets.

In response, Endless created Endless OS – a free, open-source, extremely user-friendly operating system designed for people with little to no Internet connectivity, built on GNOME.

For 2 years, I designed many apps for the operating system, co-led the design and strategy of the application design system, and often developed apps, features, and components myself with HTML/CSS/JS. I also co-led a research sprint in Indonesia to test the market for a new offering (ultimately advising to not launch there). Also provided graphic design when needed.

My roles

Product Designer (UX/UI)
Researcher

Length

2 years

Location

U.S., Brazil, Indonesia, U.K.

Product designers at Endless are the chorus for keeping the product centered on the people we build for. The designers touch everything – designing the entire operating system, designing the services Endless provides, content curation, market research and field research, user testing and iteration, keeping upstream design relationships. Endless is a huge product, and we were a small but mighty team.

In my 2 years, I wore lots of hats.

Offline content apps

Endless’s offline content apps are Endless’s main solution to delivering market-specific content at scale. Endless OS contains tons of pre-loaded apps, with everything from history and health apps to news and entertainment apps. I designed many apps myself, working in UX design, UI design, front-end development (HTML/CSS/JS), and content curation and editing.

I also worked extensively on the app-building ecosystem, a set of frameworks allowing one to build an Endless app oneself. I eventually became the lead designer for the Modular Framework, the open-source user-facing design library for the apps. I worked deeply in modular UX and UI design, design systems, template creation, user flows, user journeys, front-end development, and feature documentation. I also worked deeply in HTML, CSS, and Javascript, leading an initiative to restructure our framework code for better clarity for developers.

Not to mention communication – my work often involved gathering input from people across various teams, synthesizing the input, keeping a lot of people on the same page at the same time, running meetings, and consulting with the design team.

Collaboration & Workflow

I collaborated closely with the engineering team, working hard to foster stronger collaboration and communication design and engineering, which was key for the modular framework to grow. I worked on forming better tools for the design team to do their work with engineers, helping identify pain points and solutions for our workflow. I also often attended (and sometimes helped organize) international hackfests with our engineers working abroad and in the larger GNOME community.

Product Direction

I was constantly working with our team to balance Endless’s large product vision and changing user needs with our product direction, which involved a lot of keeping our ears to the ground. I often worked closely with product managers and engineers in roadmapping and strategizing for the future of the modular framework.

User Needs

I worked to be a voice at Endless for needs of our users, and encouraged cross-team collaboration to foster a widespread knowledge of who we were building for. I often worked closely with branding and visual design, providing user insights and connections to product and offering extra hands to create marketing material when necessary.

Market Research Sprint in Indonesia

I helped plan and participated in a market research sprint in Indonesia, a new market for us at the time. I led a small team doing qualitative research and interviews, helped lead research synthesis with the larger team and other designers, and prepared and presented a slide deck with our key insights and findings to the company.

(Due to privacy, to hear more in-depth about this sprint, contact me and I’d be happy to chat.)

I grew immensely in my 2 years at Endless, both as a designer and as a critical thinker. Endless had an ambitious product vision, and I was challenged to expand the way I understand how design, and products in general, fit into people’s everyday lives.

I learned how to ask better questions to gain more valuable insights and how to synthesize research more quickly and efficiently in a small timeframe. I grew in the way I approach my design process, and I was challenged in learning how to design for first-time computer users.

I deepened my understanding of how product teams in startup organizations work together, given Endless’s small but diverse and physically scattered team.

Most of all, I found more of my voice as a designer and user advocate. I learned the importance of challenging directions that aren’t working, grew in my knowledge of myself, and solidified my passion for designing for democracy and social impact.

To see more samples of my work at Endless, please contact me.