Building the 8th Wall Homepage
Building the 8th Wall Homepage
Overview
For 8th Wall, Developers have been a core user group from the very beginning. Alongside them, other key audiences have shifted depending on the company’s stage. In some phases, creative agencies using 8th Wall technology for branding and immersive campaigns became a primary focus; in others, enterprise clients exploring AR for business applications were prioritized.
Across all design iterations, my goal was to create a homepage that showcases the power of 8th Wall’s technology while delivering an intuitive, engaging, and optimized experience, with a focus on performance, click-through rates, and overall usability.
Stage One: Agencies , 2021
This phase centered on positioning 8th Wall for its primary audience at the time, creative agencies and studios that hired developers to use the platform for branded, time-bound experiences. Since these agencies were the paying customers and the company’s growth strategy was focused on serving them, the homepage design prioritized clear communication of 8th Wall’s core capabilities, practical value, and inspiring examples. The goal was to create a clean, approachable interface with strong hierarchy and visual storytelling that spoke directly to this professional audience. Also one of the first ever project I did when I joined 8th Wall!
I established the responsive design patterns and design handoff process for the 8th Wall website, which are still in use today.
Stage One: Agencies , 2021
This phase centered on positioning 8th Wall for its primary audience at the time, creative agencies and studios that hired developers to use the platform for branded, time-bound experiences. Since these agencies were the paying customers and the company’s growth strategy was focused on serving them, the homepage design prioritized clear communication of 8th Wall’s core capabilities, practical value, and inspiring examples. The goal was to create a clean, approachable interface with strong hierarchy and visual storytelling that spoke directly to this professional audience.
Stage One: Agencies , 2021
This phase centered on positioning 8th Wall for its primary audience at the time, creative agencies and studios that hired developers to use the platform for branded, time-bound experiences. Since these agencies were the paying customers and the company’s growth strategy was focused on serving them, the homepage design prioritized clear communication of 8th Wall’s core capabilities, practical value, and inspiring examples. The goal was to create a clean, approachable interface with strong hierarchy and visual storytelling that spoke directly to this professional audience. Also one of the first ever project I did when I joined 8th Wall!
I established the responsive design patterns and design handoff process for the 8th Wall website, which are still in use today.
Stage Two: Engagement, 2022
Following the 8th Wall acquisition by Niantic.Inc, I was tasked with redefining the 8th Wall brand presence on the web. I developed the early static concept of an interactive 3D hero experience, featuring the Doty mascot, to powerfully demonstrate the 8th Wall platform capabilities while aligning with the Niantic brand identity. In a dedicated one-week sprint, the concept were built in a 15-person team to deploy one of the most exciting interactive 3D web experiences of the time. In addition to leading the creative direction for the experience, I was responsible for the environment art, establishing the visual style and creating the 3D background assets that helped define the world and atmosphere of the site.
Stage Two: Engagement
Following the 8th Wall acquisition by Niantic.Inc, I was tasked with redefining the 8th Wall brand presence on the web. I developed the early static concept of an interactive 3D hero experience, featuring the Doty mascot, to powerfully demonstrate the 8th Wall platform capabilities while aligning with the Niantic brand identity. In a dedicated one-week sprint, the concept were built in a 15-person team to deploy one of the most exciting interactive 3D web experiences of the time. In addition to leading the creative direction for the experience, I was responsible for the environment art, establishing the visual style and creating the 3D background assets that helped define the world and atmosphere of the site.
Stage Three: Immersion , 2023 -2024
In this stage, our goal was to showcase our developers’ work on the front page and build upon the fully functional Discovery Hub, enhancing its search and browsing capabilities, profiles, and publishing flows. At this point, we also introduced more affordable subscription tiers for our customers. I led the design efforts for this phase, focusing on how we could structure and present the growing body of content effectively. We categorized all projects into five collections: Featured, Games, Avatars & Holograms, Portals, Virtual Try-Out. I worked closely with front-end engineers to ensure the experience was fully responsive across different screen sizes, paying attention to how the layout adapted and scaled dynamically. I also implemented several navigation updates that improved the user flow for logged-in users, creating a smoother, more intuitive browsing experience.
Stage Three: Immersion
In this stage, our goal was to showcase our developers’ work on the front page and build upon the fully functional Discovery Hub, enhancing its search and browsing capabilities, profiles, and publishing flows. I led the design efforts for this phase, focusing on how we could structure and present the growing body of content effectively. We categorized all projects into five collections: Featured, Games, Avatars & Holograms, Portals, Virtual Try-Out.
Stage Four: New Face + Agentic , 2025
At this stage, I was tasked with an ambitious goal: to rethink the 8th Wall brand and design a new visual identity for it. The team was entering a major transition, 8th Wall technology and its game engine were now offered for free, the platform was rapidly evolving with new features, and developers remained our core users. The strategy had also shifted to align more closely with gaming and to attract indie game developers and studios. We were stepping into the AI era. The new 8th Wall would be AI-powered, aiming to make game development more accessible and exciting, so that anyone, even with a modest idea, could start building with 8th Wall. The beta release of the desktop app marked another milestone in this transformation.
Given these fundamental changes, my challenge was to create a concept that felt approachable and inspiring, even for those who might feel hesitant about AI or generative technologies. After several brainstorming sessions with the team to understand their perspectives, I developed a creative direction that combines classic art, particularly the dramatic style of Caravaggio, with a modern twist, parodying the intersection of traditional artistry and cutting-edge AI/game development. I used Nano Banana, ChatGPT, Runway, & FloraAI to generate early concepts & and Figma make for rapid prototyping of hero section that hugely helped me to communicate my vision to engineering team.
Stage Three: Immersion
In this stage, our goal was to showcase our developers’ work on the front page and build upon the fully functional Discovery Hub, enhancing its search and browsing capabilities, profiles, and publishing flows. At this point, we also introduced more affordable subscription tiers for our customers. I led the design efforts for this phase, focusing on how we could structure and present the growing body of content effectively. We categorized all projects into five collections: Featured, Games, Avatars & Holograms, Portals, Virtual Try-Out. I worked closely with front-end engineers to ensure the experience was fully responsive across different screen sizes, paying attention to how the layout adapted and scaled dynamically. I also implemented several navigation updates that improved the user flow for logged-in users, creating a smoother, more intuitive browsing experience.
Stage Four: New Face + Agentic
I was tasked with redefining the 8th Wall brand during a major company transition. As the platform shifted to a free, rapidly evolving, AI-powered game-development tool targeting indie developers, it needed a new visual identity that felt both accessible and inspiring. With the beta launch of the desktop app and a strategic move toward gaming, I explored concepts that would resonate even with users unsure about AI. After team brainstorms, I developed a creative direction blending classic art—especially Caravaggio’s dramatic style—with modern, playful references to AI and game development.
Stage Four: New Face + Agentic , 2025
At this stage, I was tasked with an ambitious goal: to rethink the 8th Wall brand and design a new visual identity for it. The team was entering a major transition, 8th Wall technology and its game engine were now offered for free, the platform was rapidly evolving with new features, and developers remained our core users. The strategy had also shifted to align more closely with gaming and to attract indie game developers and studios. We were stepping into the AI era. The new 8th Wall would be AI-powered, aiming to make game development more accessible and exciting, so that anyone, even with a modest idea, could start building with 8th Wall. The beta release of the desktop app marked another milestone in this transformation.
Given these fundamental changes, my challenge was to create a concept that felt approachable and inspiring, even for those who might feel hesitant about AI or generative technologies. After several brainstorming sessions with the team to understand their perspectives, I developed a creative direction that combines classic art, particularly the dramatic style of Caravaggio, with a modern twist, parodying the intersection of traditional artistry and cutting-edge AI/game development. I used Nano Banana, ChatGPT, Runway, & FloraAI to generate early concepts & and Figma make for rapid prototyping of hero section that hugely helped me to communicate my vision to engineering team.
In parallel, I also led the redesign of the legacy navigation to support the new business strategy, user groups, and creative vision, and build a brand new UI library for the new look in collaboration with Product and Marketing teams.
