Redesigning a mobile hub for preset creation and creative connections

Timeline

Dec 2024 - Jan 2025

About the app

Hypegram is a highly flexible creative tool, developed by a solo creator, designed for a niche audience of photographers, visual artists, and advanced creators — but also free for anyone interested.

Its core purpose is to enable deep experimentation with video and photo presets, giving users full control over editing parameters and visual effects.

The app offers a powerful yet complex set of features — including preset creation, recording, editing, and community sharing.

Reimagining hypegram in four weeks

I took on this challenge to rethink and suggest a redesign of Hypegram. Knowing the creator is the sole developer, I was aware that implementing changes would be challenging.

My goal was to reimagine the app, define its audience and purpose, and explore its brand identity.
The app, first released in 2023, is still evolving with user feedback.

In about four weeks, I focused on three key flows — preset creation, community feed, and profiles — to improve navigation and clarity.

Powerful, but hidden: uncovering usability gaps in a feature-rich creative app

Streamlining flows & elevating interaction design

I analyzed Hypegram’s current features and prioritized three key flows:

1. Preset creation

2. Community feed

3. Profile page

Using insights from similar apps, I simplified user flows and iterated from wireframes to screen designs, following both iOS and Material Design 3 guidelines for platform consistency.

The redesign enhances:

• Usability

• Interaction design

• Adds sound and haptic effects
 — while retaining Hypegram’s core look.

Next steps include further refining interactions and elevating the overall user experience.

Solving for usability: redesigning Hypergrams’s core workflows

Redesigning Hypergram was a journey of discovery and problem-solving, focusing on functional design:

1. Understanding the Problem: Identified confusing workflows and buried features. Simplified core functions to make creativity intuitive.

2. Defining the Experience: Focused on three flows—preset creation, community feed, and profiles—streamlining navigation and clarifying purpose.

3. Research & Inspiration: Studied similar apps to adopt best practices like curated galleries and dynamic feeds.

4. Iteration & Refinement: Balanced aesthetics and functionality across iOS and Android through wireframes and testing.

5. Enhancing Interactions: Added haptic feedback, sound, and micro-interactions for a responsive experience.

Insights from redesigning a niche app

Redesigning Hypegram taught me the importance of balancing functionality with usability, embracing iteration, and following platform-specific guidelines.

I also learned how challenging it is to change an app’s structure when the developer is a team of one — big changes take time and effort.

To better understand the app, I asked "why" many times. Every design choice of the creator had a reason. Hypegram is a powerful, nerdy app, and that’s what makes it unique. Much of its structure is inspired by hardware and software tools with a long history.

The creator, Dominik, cares deeply about giving users maximum flexibility and precision when creating presets. I aimed to respect this in my redesign.

At the same time, the app lacked some basics: empty states, haptic feedback, clear icons, helpful text, proper spacing, and common design patterns. Fixing these will take more iterations and careful work.

Moving forward, I know that usability tests and user interviews will help guide improvements and ensure the app becomes even more user-friendly — while keeping its special character.

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