Product Design
Vox Media
The primary challenge was the absence of a unified system that allowed users to create, deploy, and monitor ads from one cohesive workflow. Teams relied on separate tools for design, asset preparation, campaign setup, and performance tracking, which created unnecessary friction and slowed time to launch.
Design
As the first designer hired for the product, I was responsible for shaping the core foundation of the platform through the creation of the Ad Creative Builder. This became the nucleus of the entire tool, serving as the central workspace where users generate ads from scratch, customize every creative element, and prepare assets for deployment. I mapped the full creative lifecycle and reimagined it as a guided, modular flow that reduced friction and supported both novice and advanced advertisers. The design introduced real time previews, flexible layout controls, reusable templates, and a clear visual system that allowed users to explore creative variations with confidence while maintaining brand consistency across formats.
Product Test
To validate the builder’s structure and interaction patterns, I developed interactive prototypes that simulated the complete creation and deployment experience. These sessions provided essential insights into how users navigated the tool, understood customization options, and expected feedback from the preview environment.
Testing revealed the need for more explicit guidance around editable regions, stronger visibility of controls, and seamless transitions from creation to deployment and monitoring. Incorporating this feedback helped refine the builder into a more intuitive and predictable experience that supported users through the full ad creation workflow.
Development
I translated the final direction into detailed specifications and component level documentation that guided engineering through the construction of a flexible, scalable creative engine. Since the Ad Creative Builder served as the foundation for all future features, I worked closely with engineers to define rendering rules, template logic, asset handling, and the handoff between creative assembly, campaign deployment, and post launch monitoring.
During implementation, I partnered with the team to ensure that interactions, animations, and layout behaviors aligned with the intended user experience. The result was a robust, modular system that empowered users to create, launch, and track performance within a single seamless flow.
The Ad Creative Builder became a transformative addition to the platform, significantly accelerating how quickly teams could produce and launch high quality ads. Users who once relied on fragmented tools were now able to create, deploy, and monitor campaigns within a single streamlined environment, which led to a major increase in overall productivity.
The ability to generate on brand creatives at scale contributed to a noticeable rise in campaign performance and, ultimately, a significant increase in company profits. By empowering users with faster creative production, more consistent output, and clearer visibility into how their ads performed, the builder helped deliver stronger engagement and more effective use of advertising budgets.
Adoption was strong from the outset. Partnering directly with clients throughout the rollout allowed us to gather feedback, refine the workflow, and demonstrate immediate value. As usage continued to grow, the success of the tool played a key role in expanding the internal design team, supporting new hires, and establishing a broader foundation for future creative products.
The Ad Creative Builder became more than a single feature. It evolved into a core driver of business impact and a catalyst for team growth across the organization.
