ROLE
Art Direction, Concept Art, ​UX Research

TIMEFRAME
10 Months

PLATFORM
Fire OS

TOOLS
Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Keynote

What are Amazon Enhanced Lock Screens?

Beyond the 2D

Bundled with the Fire phone and utilizing its depth cameras, Amazon Enhanced Lock Screens were themed 3D scenes that utilized Dynamic Perspective; 3D parallaxing scenes in a virtual shadow box. Depending on the angle of the phone, the scene displayed incredible depth, enabling users to look beyond what's displayed in the foreground. As they tilted their phone, users were rewarded for their curiosity as the scene revealed more context. Jeff Bezos called this reward upon close inspection and it was one of our tenets throughout the project.

​With my background in video game concept and 3D art, I was placed as a concept artist with a role in art direction over a talented team of 3D artists for the Dynamic Lock Screen project.

Jeff Bezos explains Dynamic Perspective

Ideation and Process

How did we determine what Lock Screens to make?

Demographics placed in various categories and themes

Amazon Enhanced Lock Screens covered a broad range of themes to relate to almost every type of Amazon user. Working with Amazon marketing research, I attained several personas and demographic data of Amazon customers. It enabled me to categorize 4 buckets which contain many specific themes for different demographics. 

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Concept Art

After deciding which themes to proceed with, I proceeded to paint concepts for stakeholder approval. These concepts were eventually shown directly to Jeff Bezos for final approval. He preferred to view them on paper and placed on his desk, so I printed the decks for handwritten feedback and approval.
Working closely with our 3D team, I provided guidance and direction to match the approved vision as closely as possible.

Handwritten notes from Jeff Bezos

Example: Floating World

Floating World Lock Screen

Floating World takes a spin on daily mass transit and adds a fantasy twist. In an endless loop, different modes of transportation commute around a floating island topped with a snowcapped mountain and subterranean railway.

Concept Art Process

• Thumbnails
• Concept Painting
• Material Callouts
• Prop Sheets

Thumbnail explorations

Material callouts

Environment prop sheet

Approved concept

More Concepts, Paintovers, and Textures

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Conclusion

This project was the first of its kind and a very unique opportunity for me to use both UX and concept art skillsets. I applied UX processes and research to determine what to make and how to make the Lock Screens work. Then, I got to paint concepts to essentially create scripted 3D game environments. I also learned a couple things about Jeff Bezos: He has a deep appreciation for art, and he really really loves 3D.