Firefox Android Sync

Incorporating Sync features into Firefox’s rebuilt Android browser.

Firefox for Android was due for a major performance boost that only a complete rebuild could deliver. After the team rebuilt the Sync technology, I was tasked to translate the feature to the new Android design language.

My Role

Staff Product Designer

Teammates

Principal Firefox Designer, Senior Designers, Sync Engineers

Challenges

Large userbase
Fragile
Many teams
Encrypted data

Methods

Ideation
User Flow Diagram
Design System

The problem and how it was solved

Having designed Sync in several other operating systems, I can’t claim that this was terribly challenging for me except for the timeline. I was asked to rethink the Sync interface for the new Android client and had to get up to speed on the design language, which differed from every Firefox before it.

Working closely with other staff designers, and some engineers on the net new pairing experience, I was able to provide a clear path for the engineers that satisfied the PM and my fellow designers.

Impact

Launched with ease, further iterations not required