Hello, I am Hannah Mei - here are my design principles:
creative
scalable
affordance
Scroll down to start the show...
If the hannah show was streaming on...
Here are a few seasons of my design journey
Creative enough to inspire. Scalable enough to grow. Intuitive enough to disappear.
S01. My Design Philosophy of "Play"
Life & design aren't battle royales—they're MMO games. You level up whether you win or lose. Success comes from rapid iteration and strong intuition, transforming every challenge into progress.
Anyone who has worked at a true gaming company understands how hardcore and fast things move; designing at Fortnite, the world's most popular game, is the ultimate boss fight. Beyond in-game UI, I've built creator and player ecosystems over 4 years, helping 100,000+ creators monetize and reach 650 million players. Navigating complex stakeholder relationships across engineering, art, and production.
Like sidequests in games, startups sharpen product skills beyond big tech. As design lead's I've helped scale teams from 1 to 6 while raising $3M+ at Nav.it through enterprise integrations with Starbucks and Nike, and created one of the first open-world VR experiences that topped SteamVR charts.
When controllers are down, I share my power-ups with the community. I've helped build Design Buddies (10K+ daily Discord users, millions of followers) and mentored women from UW, CMU, RISD, and UCLA into roles at Roblox, Xbox, and Blizzard. Good design, like mentorship, should be fun and uplifting.
Turn on the TV to watch...
Off / On
03
04
02
01
4 years of building for creators, players and developers.
Featuring three key project areas where I've driven significant impact: Creator Ecosystem - empowering developers/creators with intuitive tools, platforms, and monetization systems. Multi-Product & Social - designing cohesive experiences for games published across Fortnite's expanding universe such as Rocket league, Fallguys, Festival, Lego & more and building community features that drive engagement and retention. Lego Fortnite - bringing intuitive in-game experiences for LEGO Fortnite's expanding universe.
Creator Ecosystem
Learn more
Throughout my time at Epic Games, I've contributed to transformative projects that elevate Fortnite from a game to a creator platform. My work has helped bridge the gap between Creative 1.0's limited publishing capabilities and Creative 2.0's robust development ecosystem, enabling creators to build high-quality experiences, monetize effectively, and grow through data-driven insights.
The Creator Ecosystem initiative transformed Fortnite from a single game into a thriving platform economy. As the lead designer, I developed key systems that bridged Creative 1.0's limited publishing capabilities with Creative 2.0's robust UEFN environment, enabling creators to build higher quality experiences, monetize effectively, and grow through data-driven insights.
My work focused on three interconnected systems: a Download on Demand framework that seamlessly integrated legacy content into the modern player experience, an expanded Support-A-Creator program that created fair monetization pathways, and a Social Proof Loop that connected player feedback to creator analytics. Together, these systems established a sustainable ecosystem where creators could thrive while players discovered quality content.
The result was a dramatic expansion of Fortnite's creator economy, with measurable increases in creator retention, content quality, and player engagement with creator-built experiences.
My work focused on three interconnected systems: a Download on Demand framework that seamlessly integrated legacy content into the modern player experience, an expanded Support-A-Creator program that created fair monetization pathways, and a Social Proof Loop that connected player feedback to creator analytics. Together, these systems established a sustainable ecosystem where creators could thrive while players discovered quality content.
The result was a dramatic expansion of Fortnite's creator economy, with measurable increases in creator retention, content quality, and player engagement with creator-built experiences.
hint.. tap the icon to flip the card...
Impact: Preserved the value of legacy creator content while introducing players to the new UEFN ecosystem.
Adaptive UGC Downloading:
Integrating Legacy UGC into Fortnite
Impact: Established new revenue streams for creators(game developer), incentivizing higher quality content development.
Creator (Game developer) Economy:
Designing Fair Monetization Pathways
Impact: Created a feedback loop that helps players discover quality content while giving creators actionable data insights.
Social Proof Loop:
The UGC “Like” for Analytics System
Multi-Product & Social
Learn more
As Fortnite evolved from a single game to a multi-product ecosystem in 2024, I led UX initiatives focused on player engagement and retention. My designs prioritize social connections, minimizing UI friction, and creating consistent setting systems that work across the expanding Fortnite universe.
As Fortnite evolved from a single game to a diverse product ecosystem in 2024, I led UX initiatives focused on creating seamless social connections across this expanding universe. My work centered on designing systems that would enhance player engagement and retention by making it effortless to play with friends regardless of which Fortnite experience they were enjoying.
I developed three key components: a reimagined Ready Up system that streamlined the process of forming parties, a Contextual Joinable Cards framework that provided relevant information based on game state, and a Unified Settings Architecture that maintained consistency while accommodating product-specific options. These interconnected systems prioritized social engagement while minimizing UI friction.
The impact was significant—increased time played with friends (a critical retention metric), smoother transitions between Fortnite products, and a cohesive experience that allowed players to focus on play rather than navigation. By designing for scalability from the start, these systems continue to support Fortnite's growing ecosystem of experiences while maintaining a consistent, intuitive social layer.
I developed three key components: a reimagined Ready Up system that streamlined the process of forming parties, a Contextual Joinable Cards framework that provided relevant information based on game state, and a Unified Settings Architecture that maintained consistency while accommodating product-specific options. These interconnected systems prioritized social engagement while minimizing UI friction.
The impact was significant—increased time played with friends (a critical retention metric), smoother transitions between Fortnite products, and a cohesive experience that allowed players to focus on play rather than navigation. By designing for scalability from the start, these systems continue to support Fortnite's growing ecosystem of experiences while maintaining a consistent, intuitive social layer.
hint.. tap the icon to flip the card...
Impact: Increased time played with friends—a key retention metric—by making social play more accessible.
Play With Friends:
Scalable Social Systems for Fortnite
Impact: Built a scalable solution that adapts to new game modes while maintaining consistent UX patterns.
Multi-product Setting System:
Building Consistency Across Fortnite Product
Little Bird summarizes your most important moments into daily journals. Track progress with your actions, not your words.
Lego Fortnite
Learn more
Working in a fast-paced, agile environment, I've created intuitive in-game experiences for LEGO Fortnite's expanding universe. My work spans three distinct game modes: the social role-playing experience of Brick Life, the survival crafting adventure of Odyssey, and the creative freedom of LEGO Sandbox. Each required unique approaches to player engagement while maintaining the playful LEGO aesthetic and ensuring accessibility across diverse player audiences.
In the fast-paced development environment of LEGO Fortnite, I designed intuitive in-game experiences across three distinct game modes, each requiring unique approaches while maintaining the playful LEGO aesthetic. Working in rapid iteration cycles, I created systems that balanced accessibility with depth to appeal to both young players and adults.
For Brick Life, I developed social role-playing mechanics through job system UI and mini-games that fostered player interaction and community building. In Odyssey, I created survival crafting interfaces including tracking systems, contextual tool indicators, streamlined inventory management, and an enhanced codex for loot discovery. For the LEGO Sandbox mode, I designed onboarding experiences that introduced players to creative tools through guided play.
These designs collectively transformed complex gameplay systems into approachable experiences, resulting in stronger player retention, reduced frustration points, and increased creative engagement. By maintaining consistency across modes while addressing each mode's unique needs, the interfaces helped establish LEGO Fortnite as an accessible yet deep gaming experience for players of all ages.
For Brick Life, I developed social role-playing mechanics through job system UI and mini-games that fostered player interaction and community building. In Odyssey, I created survival crafting interfaces including tracking systems, contextual tool indicators, streamlined inventory management, and an enhanced codex for loot discovery. For the LEGO Sandbox mode, I designed onboarding experiences that introduced players to creative tools through guided play.
These designs collectively transformed complex gameplay systems into approachable experiences, resulting in stronger player retention, reduced frustration points, and increased creative engagement. By maintaining consistency across modes while addressing each mode's unique needs, the interfaces helped establish LEGO Fortnite as an accessible yet deep gaming experience for players of all ages.
hint.. tap the icon to flip the card...
Impact: Increased player retention and social engagement through intuitive job system UI and accessible mini-games, creating meaningful social connections while maintaining the playful LEGO aesthetic.
LEGO Brick Life:
Designing Social Systems for Immersion
Impact: Reduced player frustration and deepened engagement through streamlined tracking UI, contextual tool indicators, improved inventory management, and an enhanced codex system for loot discovery.
LEGO Odyssey:
Balancing UI Complexity in LEGO Odyssey
Immediate needs vs long-term vision - designing for impact & speed
Highlighting three start up experiences here, Sword Reverie VR: Created open-world VR experience that topped SteamVR charts. Nav.it: Built enterprise tools for Starbucks/Nike. Leading and scaled design team from 1→6 while raising $3M+. Ripl: Redesigned Canva competitor's creator tools. Metric-driven design significantly improved retention via A/B testing.
Sword Reverie
With the most ambitious founders and designers we pioneered the first open-world cross-platform VR experience for SteamVR and Quest. Even with limited resources against competitors 10x our size, my rapid prototyping methodology accelerated development cycles, we were the top 3 funded VR title on kickstarter at the time, & the #1 trending SteamVR game at launch.
At Sword Reverie, I led the design of developer tools and technical interfaces that empowered our creative team while enhancing player experience. I created comprehensive UI systems for in-game HUD, progression tracking, and settings, while developing a rapid VR prototyping methodology that cut development cycles by 30%. My scalable design systems streamlined cross-platform development between SteamVR and Quest, contributing to our successful launch as the #1 trending game on SteamVR.
hint.. tap me to flip the card...
This case study explores how I created intuitive interfaces for Sword Reverie's virtual reality experience. By developing a cohesive design system that addressed the unique challenges of spatial computing, I crafted immersive HUD elements, contextual menus, and interaction patterns that felt natural in VR.
VRUI/UX Design
design and execute the Sword Reverie Kickstarter campaign that successfully funded our VR fantasy adventure. I created compelling visual assets and campaign materials that effectively communicated our game's unique vision to potential backers. By crafting an engaging narrative around our core gameplay mechanics and developing a strategic rollout of updates and stretch goals, we built a community of enthusiastic supporters.
Kickstarter Design and Running
Translated complex level design tools into accessible interfaces, I created a system where our team members could build, test, and publish their own lvl experiences for rapid testing with our players.
Unity Map Design
Nav.it
As founding design lead at Nav.it, I built scalable cross-platform systems and SAAS tools enabling enterprise partners like Starbucks and Nike to integrate our platform. I helped scale our design team from 1 to 6 while raising $3M+, balancing immediate needs with long-term vision.
At Nav.it, I transformed a promising financial wellness platform into an enterprise-ready solution through strategic design leadership. I designed robust developer tools and APIs that enabled successful enterprise partnerships with major brands like Starbucks and Nike, creating new revenue streams and expanding the platform's reach.
My technical contributions included creating a comprehensive component-based design system and streamlined developer onboarding process that reduced integration time by 45%, significantly accelerating partner adoption. As the company grew, I scaled the design team from a solo operation to a six-person department, implementing technical design reviews and developer testing protocols that ensured consistent quality.
Beyond design, I played a key role in the company's business growth, helping co-founders secure over $3M in investment by translating technical capabilities into compelling business opportunities. This work demonstrated how strategic design leadership can drive both product excellence and business outcomes in the competitive fintech space.
My technical contributions included creating a comprehensive component-based design system and streamlined developer onboarding process that reduced integration time by 45%, significantly accelerating partner adoption. As the company grew, I scaled the design team from a solo operation to a six-person department, implementing technical design reviews and developer testing protocols that ensured consistent quality.
Beyond design, I played a key role in the company's business growth, helping co-founders secure over $3M in investment by translating technical capabilities into compelling business opportunities. This work demonstrated how strategic design leadership can drive both product excellence and business outcomes in the competitive fintech space.
hint.. tap me to flip the card...
I developed a component-based architecture that balanced brand consistency with technical scalability. By reimagining the design foundation, I created a system that not only accelerated developer implementation but also enabled seamless customization for enterprise clients like Starbucks and Nike.
Design System Redesign
Recognizing that traditional financial interfaces often fail to engage users meaningfully, I designed a personalized journey that adapts to individual financial behaviors and goals. By integrating behavioral economics principles with intuitive visualization techniques, I transformed complex financial data into actionable insights that users could easily understand and apply.
Financial Journey 2.0
Ripl
At Ripl, I reshaped the leading Canva competitor's creator tools, implementing strict A/B tests and metric-driven designs that significantly improved creator retention and efficiency across mobile and web interfaces.
During my contract role at Ripl, I tackled the challenge of redesigning complex technical workflows for this leading Canva competitor's creator tools platform. My approach balanced the needs of two critical user groups—developers building the platform and creators using it to produce content.
I implemented a metrics-driven design validation process that allowed us to measure the impact of design changes across both mobile and web interfaces. This data-informed approach enabled us to identify and eliminate friction points in the creator journey while simplifying implementation for the development team.
The results were significant: streamlined workflows that improved creator retention and efficiency while establishing a more scalable platform architecture. By focusing on the intersection of technical feasibility and user experience, I delivered designs that supported Ripl's business goals while enhancing the creative experience for their diverse user base.
I implemented a metrics-driven design validation process that allowed us to measure the impact of design changes across both mobile and web interfaces. This data-informed approach enabled us to identify and eliminate friction points in the creator journey while simplifying implementation for the development team.
The results were significant: streamlined workflows that improved creator retention and efficiency while establishing a more scalable platform architecture. By focusing on the intersection of technical feasibility and user experience, I delivered designs that supported Ripl's business goals while enhancing the creative experience for their diverse user base.
hint.. tap me to flip the card...
By analyzing the journey from initial sign-up to first content creation, I identified key friction points that prevented new users from experiencing the platform's full value. The redesigned onboarding introduced a progressive learning curve with contextual guidance, quick wins, and personalized pathways based on creator goals.
Onboarding Improveemt
Recognizing that many users struggled with maintaining creative momentum, I designed a system of meaningful achievements, progression pathways, and social recognition that transformed the content creation process. By carefully balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, the solution encouraged creators to expand their skills while building a sustainable creation habit. The gamified framework included personalized challenges, skill-building quests, and community showcases that celebrated creator growth.
Gamified Solution
Freetime & for fun?
Focusing on technical gaming UX skills rarely taught in traditional education—areas where talented women are often intimidated—I speak, teach, and help mentees break into gaming giants to do their life's work. This creates a multiplier effect changing the face of gaming UX. When diverse perspectives shape our digital worlds based on qualification and talent, not just diversity alone, everyone wins.
