The problem
Microsoft Mesh needed to bring mixed-reality collaboration, meaning shared spatial VR/AR experiences, into everyday Teams meetings. Avatars for Teams was the entry point. Could we make creating and wearing an avatar feel personal enough that people actually wanted to show up as themselves?
Constraints
- Had to work as a lightweight first-run flow inside an existing, high-traffic product (Teams)
- Needed a marketplace storefront that could support partner-branded content without breaking visual consistency
- Motion had to read as "fun and playful" without feeling off-brand for enterprise meetings
Shipped design
The work broke into three feature areas. Click any screen to view it full-size.
First-run experience
Live preview of skin selection. Preset thumbnails update in real time, so choices feel immediate.
Marketplace storefront
Storefront layouts that flex to each partner's identity while staying inside the Mesh design system.
Event details & purchase
Purchase and confirmation flows, plus the Team Mixer shared-event experience.
Motion design
Early animation explorations for the avatar and storefront experience, finding a tone that felt playful but still fit a work context.
Extending to Altspace
When Altspace VR joined the Mesh ecosystem, I redesigned its live-events hub around Mesh Coins as sole designer: hero carousel, category filtering, a visible coin balance, and the end-to-end ticket purchase flow. The design was approved, then cut in 2023 when Microsoft sunset Altspace and stepped back from the metaverse overall.
Information architecture
The ticket purchase flow and restructured site map came before any screens.
Before / after
The live events site as it stood, then my redesign to fit the Mesh visual ecosystem and introduce Mesh Coins.
