UX Research, architecture, and design
2022 – 2023
TL;DR
At Google, I contributed to two major UX initiatives within the Ads Privacy and Safety team, focusing on enhancing user experience through specific research methodologies and innovative design strategies. For the Ads Transparency Center, I supported the design of a global-facing experience that enables users to search, understand, and evaluate ads. This design ensures usability, transparency, and regulatory compliance. In parallel, I led a comprehensive competitive landscape analysis of content reporting experiences across 24 platforms, conducting deep audits, mapping end-to-end user journeys, and delivering actionable recommendations to improve reporting systems. Together, these projects enhanced transparency, accountability, and user trust by improving ad evaluation processes and refining reporting systems on a global scale.
Google ads transparency Center
Project Type
UX Design
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Role
UX Designer, collaborating on research, architecture, design, prototyping, and cross-team integration
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Background
As part of Google’s Ads Privacy and Safety team, I supported the design of the new Ads Transparency Center, an initiative aimed at improving public understanding of digital advertising and meeting EU compliance standards. The experience needed to balance accountability, usability, and regulatory requirements across global regions.
Goals
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Design an intuitive landing page for ad search, policies, and analytics
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Architect a clear and accessible search, results, and details experience
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Provide transparency into general and political ads, including funding sources
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Develop a disapproved ads experience that protects advertiser privacy
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Ensure alignment with Google brand guidelines and global legal standards
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Research & Approach
I contributed to competitor analysis and heuristic reviews, working alongside legal, research, and product teams. Usability testing was conducted throughout the project, helping us continuously refine discoverability, prioritize relevant details, and simplify information presentation. We benchmarked external solutions to identify best practices and developed unique components tailored to Google’s needs.​
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Architecture & Design
I collaborated on wireframes and multiple design iterations, focusing on several core areas:
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Landing Page: Serving as the hub for ad searches while educating users on Google’s ad policies and practices.
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Search & Results: Prioritizing ease of use with sorting, filtering, and clear distinctions between general and political ads.
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Ad Details: Designing a second-tier view that consolidated ad versions and targeting data, with supporting copy to help users interpret complex information.
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Disapproved Ads: Addressing the challenge of showing policy violations without revealing advertiser identities, balancing transparency and privacy.
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Insights Dashboard: Visualizing key analytics and enforcement metrics to reinforce Google’s commitment to ad integrity.
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I also helped shape microcopy and worked within Google’s Material Design system, adapting new patterns where needed.
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Collaboration
This was a deeply cross-functional effort involving UX designers, product owners, legal advisors, and researchers. I worked closely with these partners to ensure regulatory alignment, technical feasibility, and consistent user experience across regions.
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Challenges & Outcomes​
One of the most complex challenges was designing for disapproved ads — finding ways to communicate policy violations without compromising privacy. Another was designing the political ads experience to clarify funding sources in a way that built public trust.
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The final product successfully met EU compliance goals and incorporated features that allowed for adaptation and scalability across different global markets. Usability testing and continuous iteration ensured the experience remained user-friendly and aligned with evolving business and legal needs.
Google content reporting landscape analysis
Project Type
UX Research, Competitive Analysis, Synthesis, Recommendations​
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Role
UX Researcher and Designer, lead on competitive audits, synthesis, and presentation
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Background
While working on the Ads Transparency Center, Google’s Ads Privacy and Safety team recognized the need to assess and improve its content and ad reporting experience. The team brought me in to support an extensive research effort, evaluating competitor and analogous reporting journeys to identify best practices and pain points across the industry.
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Goals
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Research industry norms for reporting content, ads, profiles, and pages
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Identify common user expectations and experience gaps
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Map end-to-end user journeys and surface pain points
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Develop actionable recommendations to improve Google Ads reporting UX​
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Research Approach
I led highly detailed competitive audits across 24 global platforms, including social media, marketplaces, and browsers, to evaluate multiple report types such as ad reporting, intellectual property violations, and offensive content, directly contributing to identifying best practices and pain points.
My methods included desk research and heuristic analysis. I mapped complete user journeys across submission, moderation, and follow-up phases, carefully comparing patterns between platforms.
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Key Findings
While specifics are confidential, some recurring pain points included:
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Missing submission confirmations or status updates
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Lack of follow-up communication post-report
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Poorly defined reporting criteria or categories
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Disjointed flows across platforms
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Overly complex, multi-step reporting journeys that could be streamlined​
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Recommendations & Delivery
I drafted recommendations addressing specific improvements, including enhancing copy clarity, ensuring taxonomy consistency, standardizing UI patterns, increasing transparency levels, and improving feedback loop effectiveness, all aimed at creating a more cohesive user experience. I produced a 250+ page final report, a companion slide deck, and all supporting visuals. I presented the results and insights in virtual sessions, breaking down the findings into feature-focused, actionable takeaways for the team.​
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Collaboration & Challenges
Initially, I collaborated with another designer/researcher before taking the lead, setting research boundaries, and addressing nuanced challenges—such as comparing intellectual property and offensive content reporting journeys across platforms.​
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Outcomes & Impact
The project provided critical validation and guidance for improving Google Ads’ reporting procedures by identifying key areas for enhancement, helping the team align product improvements with user expectations and industry best practices. It became a foundational input for design and policy updates across the platform.