Beem

Lead Designer

The Role

Responsible for leading design in Product and Marketing

Concept

Beem was developed to redefine digital communication by integrating augmented reality (AR) technology.

Positioned as an evolution beyond conventional video calling platforms like FaceTime, Beem allows users to project their real-time video presence into a friend’s physical environment using AR.

Creative Challenges

The project presented a unique set of challenges, primarily because it ventured into an unexplored domain with no existing applications for reference. Our vision was to build a comprehensive platform that would offer a personal phone book, messaging service, live AR video calls, and even the capability to live-stream to a vast audience.

Aligned by design

The project’s complexity was heightened by the divergent objectives of various departments, including Marketing, Product Development, Investor Relations, and Design. To align these multifaceted interests, I led the creation of detailed mockup walkthroughs. These served as a unifying blueprint that enabled cohesive execution across all teams.

Design Phase

The design phase involved close collaboration with UI and UX specialists to conceptualize the user interface and experience for each feature. Following initial designs, we conducted user testing and made necessary adjustments.

On the marketing front, we employed a blend of video and static visuals, enriched by Beem’s unique AR capabilities, to engage potential users.

Experience

My experience at Beem was marked by some of the most intellectually engaging and creative challenges of my career. We delved into intricate discussions about optimizing the user journey and the role of design in facilitating this process.

Crafting a marketing design that could both capture and sustain a broad audience’s attention presented its own set of unique challenges.

While Beem showed significant promise, financial limitations restricted our ability to execute a large-scale marketing strategy. The company managed to raise $5 million over several years but has since scaled back operations. The CEO now solely manages the venture, following a decline in investment after the Covid-19 pandemic.