The Story

The Freehand Animation Tool was developed to solve a long-standing challenge in set-top box design: the gap between designers' creative vision and the final animation implementation. Traditionally, designers communicated animations through sketches or prototypes, which often led to misinterpretation and suboptimal results. To bridge this gap, we created a tool that allowed designers to directly animate set-top box interfaces, ensuring the final output matched their vision. The prototype, demonstrated on Astro's home screen, showcased seamless scrolling, screen transitions, and dynamic menu interactions, dramatically improving the user experience.

I played a key role in conceptualizing and developing this tool. By researching and modifying Robert Penner’s easing equations, I enabled designers to manipulate animation curves and directly implement them on set-top boxes. This innovation allowed for precise control over the flow and timing of animations, eliminating miscommunication and ensuring smooth, cohesive transitions. The tool's success was recognized with an Innovation Excellence Award at Cisco and a Best Demo Award at an international conference, highlighting its impact on the design process and user experience for set-top boxes.