Role

Lead UX/UI Designer

Timeline

Aug 2023 - Present

PRODUCT IN BETA

PRODUCT IN BETA

PRODUCT IN BETA

SHIPPED

SHIPPED

SHIPPED

HyperX Gaming Peripheral App

A unified, cross-platform companion software redefining how millions of gamers interact with HyperX devices.

Leading the end-to-end design of the new generation NGENUITY, I built a scalable software foundation that connects every HyperX peripheral customization under one cohesive ecosystem.

As the Lead UX/UI Designer, I collaborated with product and engineering teams across the U.S. and Taiwan to create an accessible user experience that supports both Windows and macOS.

View NGENUITY Beta

View NGENUITY Beta

View NGENUITY Beta

Objectives

Responsibilities

Create a unified software layer for all HyperX peripherals to:

  • Enable long-term, cross-platform scalability for future products and software features

  • Increase peripheral adoption and software engagement through streamlined device customization

  • Reduce firmware-related bugs and support tickets

Impact

Current Results

  • Established a scalable design system that reduced design-to-development friction by ~35%, improving cross-platform consistency.

  • Defined a repeatable design–engineering framework now applied across all new HyperX product launches, strengthening collaboration between design, engineering, and product management.

  • Surpassed 40,000+ beta downloads within the first 3 months, currently maintaining over 10,000+ monthly active users.

Highlight #1

Modernized Key Assignments

Rebuilt the key mapping experience with real-time drag-and-drop interaction, increasing task completion speed by ~40% in user testing and cutting average error rates in half.

Modernized Key Assignments

HIGHLIGHT #1

HIGHLIGHT #1

Rebuilt the key mapping experience with real-time drag-and-drop interaction, increasing task completion speed by ~40% in user testing and cutting average error rates in half.

Highlight #2

Streamlined Lighting Presets

Introduced a modular lighting engine and simplified preset management. Reduced steps to customize effects and improving feature adoption during beta by ~60%.

Streamlined Lighting Presets

HIGHLIGHT #2

HIGHLIGHT #2

Introduced a modular lighting engine and simplified preset management. Reduced steps to customize effects and improving feature adoption during beta by ~60%.

Highlight #3

Simplified Settings Navigation

Consolidated multiple configuration modules into a unified sidebar, reducing navigation depth by ~50% and aligning system architecture for macOS expansion.

Simplified Settings Navigation

HIGHLIGHT #3

HIGHLIGHT #3

Consolidated multiple configuration modules into a unified sidebar, reducing navigation depth by ~50% and aligning system architecture for macOS expansion.

CONTEXT

CONTEXT

CONTEXT

The Challenge

Outdated software and limited scalability

NGENUITY’s 2018 architecture, limited to Windows Fluent UI, restricted scalability and fragmented the user experience. This caused inefficiencies in firmware QA and cross-team collaboration.

PROBLEM

PROBLEM

PROBLEM

Market Demand

Our community of gamers needed macOS support

HyperX users expressed growing frustration across forums and social channels. macOS did not have device customization or firmware updates, forcing them to rely on Windows-only tools for basic product functionality.

USER RESEARCH

USER RESEARCH

USER RESEARCH

User Research & Insights

Analyzed existing pain points to guide redesign priorities

Using Sprinklr social sentiment analysis and internal support data, we discovered a 30% year-over-year increase in macOS-related support requests, directly affecting brand trust and NPS. This trend reflected growing frustration around accessibility, firmware stability, and device compatibility.

From these findings, we identified four key insights that shaped our redesign direction for the next-generation NGENUITY platform.

Accessibility

Users requested light and dark modes to improve comfort, readability, and accessibility across different gaming and work environments.

Firmware Reliability

Users had frequent firmware failures and unclear update progress created frustration and confusion.

Internal QA Efficiency

QA and firmware teams required faster, more reliable test cycles to validate early product builds.

Audio Customization Demand

With over 20 million headsets and 1 million microphones sold, users increasingly requested more advanced EQ control, citing inconsistent results from legacy DTS Spatial configurations.

Design System & Documentation

Design System & Documentation

Responsive Layout Structure

Built a responsive grid system to ensure layout consistency and scalability across platforms. Each interface component was redlined and documented to support dynamic resizing, adaptive spacing, and platform-specific behaviors, creating a cohesive experience for gamers on both Windows and macOS.

Why

This framework unified previously siloed design patterns, improving design-to-engineering alignment and accelerating feature delivery across product modules.

Impact

Reduced design-to-development friction by by ~35% and established a reusable documentation standard for future software features.

Design System & Documentation

Design System & Documentation

Scalable Theming with Design Tokens

Scalable Theming with
Design Tokens

Implemented Figma design tokens to unify color, contrast, and typography across both light and dark modes. The token architecture enabled scalable theming for Windows and macOS, ensuring visual consistency, accessibility, and efficient iteration as new peripherals are added to the ecosystem.

Why

This foundation allowed engineers to update global variables once, propagating changes automatically across hundreds of components improving release velocity and accessibility compliance.

Impact

Reduced theme maintenance, increased WCAG contrast compliance to ~98%, and established a reusable token library supporting future mobile and web extensions.

Prototyping & Motion

Prototyping & Motion

Dynamic & Multimodal Interactions

Dynamic & Multimodal
Interactions

I defined the motion and feedback language for NGENUITY using ProtoPie to prototype realistic interaction states across devices and platforms. The prototypes established consistent animation timing, transitions, and multimodal feedback patterns that guided engineering.

Why

This systemized approach improved user comprehension, responsiveness, and perceived performance, while enabling engineers to reference motion specs directly from prototypes.

Impact

Reduced motion-spec clarification requests and improved task success by ~50% in usability tests, and accelerated cross-platform implementation consistency.

Key Feature

Key Feature

Streamlined Firmware Management

Streamlined
Firmware Management

Introduced a dedicated hub for firmware management to view device details, monitor version history, and update components through a clear step-by-step process. This simplified QA and firmware workflows, improving visibility and reducing update errors.

Why

A unified system was needed to streamline firmware testing and collaboration. I designed a clear, recovery-ready update flow that improved visibility and reduced QA dependency.

Impact

The new Firmware Manager cut validation cycles by ~65%, reduced update failures by ~40%, and established a shared workflow now used across all HyperX product releases.

Key Feature

Key Feature

Enhanced Audio Customization

IIntegrated HEAR360’s spatial-audio framework to power a fully parametric EQ system, enabling per-band frequency control and real-time audio feedback within NGENUITY.

Why

Users wanted deeper control and more accurate audio profiles, as legacy DTS settings failed to reflect true in-game or streaming needs. I designed a fully parametric EQ system to deliver personalized, reliable sound customization across devices.

Impact

The new EQ, built in collaboration with HEAR360, increased feature adoption 3× and reduced audio-related support tickets by ~25%, establishing the foundation for future cross-device audio enhancements.

User Feedback

User Feedback

Community-Driven Progress

Real feedback from our community drives every update, helping us refine NGENUITY into a smoother, more reliable experience for all gamers.

OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES

What Went Wrong

Reflections from the beta release

Limited Resources

Technical debt left several designed features unreleased, creating UX inconsistencies across modules and user flows.

Cross-Functional Gaps

Working with overseas teams introduced time zone and language barriers that required more robust documentation.

Feature Debt

Resource constraints meant some features were delayed or simplified to meet beta deadlines.

OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES

OUTCOMES

Product Takeaways

Ongoing reflections as the product continues to evolve

Cross-platform Scalability

Ongoing updates strengthens the foundation for future HyperX peripherals and software expansions.

Collaboration Excellence

Maintaining detailed documentation, clear prototypes, and async communication improve execution across time zones.

Accessibility Priority

Expanding WCAG compliance and narration support for inclusive gaming.

Iteration as Strategy

Each feedback cycle sharpens how we balance scalability, usability, and brand expression across the ecosystem.

© 2025 Brian Lao. All Rights Reserved.

Made with lots of cold brew oolong tea.

Email

Resume

LinkedIn

© 2025 Brian Lao.

Made with lots of oolong tea.

Email

Resume

LinkedIn

© 2025 Brian Lao. All Rights Reserved.

Made with lots of cold brew oolong tea.

Email

Resume

LinkedIn