Google Photos

Background

Launched in 2015, Google Photos is a globally used, award-winning photo sharing and storage service known for its ability to search libraries by people, places, and things. By 2016, the platform had surpassed one billion users. Despite this success, a core irony emerged: many people still struggled to find the photos they were looking for. Our team set out to address these usability and technical barriers.

As a Product Designer on the Google Brand Studio team, I collaborated closely with another Product Designer, a copywriter, a program manager, and a creative lead. Together we partnered with the Google Photos Product and Google Support teams, running two-week design sprints and collaborative workshops to refine, test, and validate our concepts.

The Challenge

Support data revealed five issues that consistently blocked users from finding their photos:

1. Device folders not backed up on Android, causing unexpected data gaps.

2. Google Drive sync settings disabled, creating incomplete photo libraries.

3. Search indexing still in progress, preventing users from locating key images.

4. Confusion about the deletion model, leading to accidental losses.

5. Incorrect date and time metadata from third-party cameras, disrupting library organization.

The Work

Cross-functional collaboration

• Worked closely with a fellow Product Designer, a copywriter, a program manager, and a creative lead.

• Partnered directly with product, engineering, and support teams to understand root causes and technical constraints.

• Led two-week design sprints and facilitated brainstorming sessions with Google Photos and Google Support to co-develop solutions.

Iterative design process

• Refined concepts through rapid ideation, collaborative critique, and continuous alignment with internal teams.

• Created prototypes and conducted usability testing to confirm whether proposed solutions improved clarity and reduced user friction.

Key contributions

• Proposed clearer, more intuitive ways to surface and explain backup settings for Android device folders.

• Recommended contextual sync toggles to simplify cross-device photo management.

• Designed communication and education cues to clarify the deletion model, improve understanding of search indexing, and reduce confusion around metadata inconsistencies.

Outcome

Our work helped Google Photos move toward a more transparent and intuitive experience that could scale to its next billion users. By addressing the most common points of failure in backup, search, and library organization, we reduced user friction in markets where devices, connectivity, and photo behaviors vary widely. The solutions we developed strengthened trust, clarified core mental models, and created a more resilient foundation for a global audience.

This strategic work not only improved day-to-day usability, it also informed how Google Photos could design and build for a broader, more diverse population entering the ecosystem for the first time.