Amazon Kindle

Create the best digital reading device

Context

As a lead designer at Amazon, I helped define the core interaction model for Kindle, shaping how people read, navigate, and engage with content on a purpose-built device. This was a true zero-to-one effort, requiring new interaction patterns designed for the constraints and opportunities of e-ink displays and custom hardware.

I led the design of interaction flows and prototypes that balanced simplicity, performance, and immersion, keeping the experience focused on reading while still feeling powerful and intuitive. The work required close collaboration with hardware, software, and product teams to translate design intent into a reliable, scalable consumer product.

My work spanned four generations of Kindle across nine devices, including the design of X-Ray, a patentable feature that enabled deeper contextual understanding of books and was later applied across other Amazon experiences.

I also created the “Boy Under the Tree” visual motif, which became the defining symbol of the Kindle brand. Used across the app icon, product branding, and marketing, it helped establish Kindle as a calm, reader-first experience and reinforced Amazon’s ambition to build the best digital reading device in the world

Role