Evolving Google Photos for a smarter, more personal gallery
Role: UX Design Manager
Overview
Google Photos is where millions of people store their most important memories. But organizing and finding those memories wasn't always easy. I focused on making the experience smarter, more inclusive and more personalized. I led design strategy, team management and cross-functional alignment across key initiatives: Photo stacks, Smart document organization and a smooth migration of Xiaomi cloud user to Google One. I also ran a vision sprint to help define what the next five years of Google Photos could look like.
Photos Stack experience
Smart organization for utility images
OCR based event creation
Xiaomi cloud migration to Google One
The Challenges
Photos was already a strong product but there were a few core challenges we needed to address:
- Users struggled to organize related photos, especially when it came to similar shots or burst captures
- Everyday utility images like screenshots, documents, and receipts cluttered the gallery, making it harder for people to find the memories that actuall mattered
- Users moving from their native cloud to Google One needed a smooth and trustworthy migration experience
- We needed to think long-term: how do we keep Photos competitive and meaningful as the ecosystem evolves?
Approach
1. Lead with user needs
I worked with our UX researchers to identify key friction points across photo organization, sharing, and search. From there I prioritized a few meaningful problems to solve, not just what looked shiny but what actually helped people find and relive their memories.
2. Lower-impact changes, plan for the future
We launched Photos stacks, which grouped similar photos together automatically using machine-learning. At the same time I ran a cross-functional five-year vision sprint for the gallery space. Bringing product, engineering, researchers and business development to create the long-term direction of the product.
3. Make high-stakes transitions feel simple
I partnered with Xiaomi’s design team to support the cloud migration of millions of users. We focused on building clear onboarding flows, minimizing friction, and ensuring data integrity. It wasn't flashy work but it mattered deeply to users and business goals.
4. Support and grow the team
I managed a team of five designers and supported their individual growth through regular 1:1s, strategy deep-dives and feedback practices. I also created a space for design jam sessions and informal hangouts to keep our distributed team, remote and in-person, grounded and connected.
Outcomes
- Photo Stacks drove a 10% increase in user engagement with organized albums
- Automatically sorting utility images into a separate space helped people feel more in control of their gallery without tedious manual cleanup
- The Xiaomi cloud migration successfully transitioned millions of users with minimal issues and high satisfaction
- Our five-year vision was adopted across teams and used to guide future roadmap planning for Google Photos
Looking Back
This work was a mix of thoughtful iteration and forward-looking strategy. I’m proud of how we tackled everyday usability challenges while also taking time to step back and ask where this product was headed next. It was one of those projects where I got to lead both execution and vision and support a talented hard-working team along the way.
Press
Davina Kim