product design
/
hardware-software
Dell mobile services
Designing a mobile companion to elevate Dell’s product experience across the PC ecosystem
overview
Dell Mobile Services was created to improve the PC ownership journey from setup to everyday use.
As one of the senior product designers on the team, I helped design a mobile companion app focused on smarter onboarding, easier personalization, and deeper product engagement.
year
2022 - 2023
company
Dell
role
Senior Product Designer
skills
Interaction Design
User Research
Design Systems
0 -> 1 Product Strategy
What was the outcome?
Prototype shared with leadership and integrated into roadmap for continued development. A version was later shipped onto app stores.
The challenge
Dell’s out-of-box experience was fragmented. It lacked emotional connection and didn’t provide enough value beyond setup.
We aimed to improve customer satisfaction by building a more unified experience that delivered value right from day one.
Spaghetti cables as one of the key pain points
Survey data backing the discovery
initial research
To understand pain points in the out-of-box experience (OOBE), our UX researcher targeted Dell customers who had purchased a device within the past year. This helped us capture fresh, detailed reflections on their setup experience.
10
45m
200+
4
Based on that problem statement, we mapped the full setup and ownership journey to identify where users dropped off or felt lost.
This helped us identify and prioritise features that supported:
First-time personalization
Easy migration from old devices
Managing devices, warranties, and preferences in one place
the vision
We envisioned a connected experience that made every Dell product feel more intelligent, personal, and useful from day one. The mobile app would act as a guide and companion not just during setup, but throughout the entire device lifecycle.
This meant focusing on simplicity, delight, and deeper value in moments that are often overlooked, like first-time personalization, migration, and discovery.
We had key goals that we identified early on:
Research & prototyping
As part of a cross-functional team, I contributed to early research and ideation that shaped the direction of the mobile companion app.
Together, we facilitated a series of workshops to define key use cases and identify moments where the app could deliver timely, meaningful value. These sessions helped us think beyond initial setup and focus on the entire ownership lifecycle —looking at how the app could continue to support users long after their first day with a Dell device.
Prototyping proved key in bringing the full experience to life, we built a polished Protopie prototype to demo the concept to Dell’s leadership team. This gave stakeholders a clear, end-to-end view of how the mobile app could elevate the Dell product experience.
Quick user flows and wireframing across two devices
Identifying key moments of the journey
visual design & interaction
I helped establish a visual design language and a style guide for faster iteration, working closely with designers and engineers to align on technical feasibility, especially around mobile-to-PC pairing.
As part of the future-scoping exercise, we also explored an AI assistant that would support onboarding and device guidance. I created motion studies that we fitted into the protopie demo for presentation to stakeholders.
Integration of the Dell logo with the virtual assistant
Voice and visual states (greeting, listening, responding)
Studies from this project helped developed the next part of the design language for future projects.
outcome
Prototypes shared with Dell leadership
Further studies done post presentation to prove use case and usability.
Accepted into the roadmap for future development
Helped reframe the role of setup as an opportunity for lasting brand connection
Studies from this project helped developed the next part of the design language for future projects.