ALEXANDRIA
HESTON
Systems - Interactions - Human Centered Innovation
ABOUT
Designer currently with Future Platforms in Apple's Vision Products Group. My background spans Niantic Inc, Magic Leap, and Across Realities where I have led systems and interaction design across mobile and wearable devices for multi-user platforms. My work starts in complexity: understanding the full landscape of constraints, failure points, and human needs. I then make connections by seeing through different modes and across disciplines to find the thread that establishes a clear foundation.
01
contextual notifications
Apple · Vision Products Group · 2022–Present
I led innovations in notification behavior for wearables and head-mounted devices (HMDs). The system we built holds messages for the user until their real-world focus matches the message’s relevance and urgency.
Our major considerations were whether the wearer is focused, in a conversation, or occupied by their surroundings. Based on this, the device decides to interrupt, hold, hand off, or reveal a notification through gaze. The notifications also progressively discloses more information over time. Content begins from an minimized state that doesn’t demand attention and . sustained gaze triggers it to unfold and reveal itself fully.
02
environmental automations
Apple · Vision Products Group · 2022–Present
Multiple explorations into day-to-day home activities with smart objects revealed that the scale for human interactions in the home is rarely accounted for in head-mounted device (HMD) prototypes. Seeing the status of a connected object, without considering relevance, is a usability issue for homes with many connected objects.
This led to the design of recognizing object and user triggers. For example, the object trigger displays a status only when an object deviates from an inferred “baseline” behavior, which shifts with time of day and routine. The user trigger is prompted when the device is put on or taken off, which then prompts the wearable to run a morning or nighttime routine.
03
pokémon go ignite
Niantic · 2020–2022
This project was designed in collaboration with The Pokémon Company as a future concept, building on Pokémon GO's own success at inspiring millions of people to adventure outdoors. The goal was to enhance that existing mobile experience and its lore. I translated Pokémon GO's mobile inventory system into a menu interface that could move with you as you explore the outdoors.
A wearer browses the new menu with a raise of the hand and turn of the wrist, keeping the main field of view free to keep moving. The companion catch-and-throw system let a wearer aim and release using the same inputs. Hand movement along two axes maps to throw displacement, with a projected arc line showing where a released object would land.
04
pancake pals
Magic Leap · 2019–2020
I led visual, interaction, and systems design for Pancake Pals, a shared party game built for two people to play together in the same room. I designed a host-client architecture connecting two players across Magic Leap One headsets, as well as a companion mobile app that gives an observer their own in-session overlay.
As this was a real-time networked experience in a shared physical space, I focused on creating a system that was both playful as well as considerate. It also meant taking into account hiding technical complexity from users. After many iterations, we arrived at a user flow that allowed them to easily recover from potential failure modes including connectivity, device, and spatial issues.
05
undersea
Magic Leap · 2019–2020
Working with a lead designer and technical artist, I designed the onboarding flow for mapping the environment of a room using a head-mounted device. This work explored whether a purely VFX-based mechanic could guide a wearer to scan enough of their room to meet the requirement of space the experience needed.
Our final design was a five-state particle sequence. It guided a wearer through moving from a searching state to a completed state without a single word of instruction.
06
spatiate
Across Realities · 2018–2019
As the company's cofounder and lead designer, I created Spatiate's features across iOS, Android, and Magic Leap One. Our ultimate goal was to showcase digital spaces as a new frontier for shared social experiences. I mapped the same feature set onto two different interaction languages: touch on mobile, spatial placement and manipulation inside a headset.