The Challenge

Yamaha Motor Canada was undergoing a broader shift from traditional print to digital media. One of our core initiatives was modernizing MyYamaha — a biannual lifestyle magazine — into a dynamic, user-driven digital experience. The goal: transform static content into a continuous, personalized engagement platform.

At the time, “UI/UX” wasn’t yet a common industry term, but this project marked my first real leap into modern product design.

The Hypothesis

By transitioning from a rigid, twice-yearly print format to a digital app or newsletter-style platform, we could:

• Deliver fresher, event-relevant content year-round
• Reduce bottlenecks and rushed production cycles
• Improve personalization and targeting for users
• Begin capturing data to improve both UX and advertising ROI

Strategy & Planning

Proposal Overview:
Create a hybrid news feed + content hub app focused on:

• Self-serve content discovery
• User customization via tags/filters
• Mobile-first design with optional web support

Business Benefits Identified:

• Faster publishing cycles
• Increased relevance for seasonal/event-based content
• Potential user data collection to improve advertising
• Long-term platform for personalized owner experiences (e.g., service updates)

Research & Competitive Analysis

At the time, few vehicle manufacturers offered a direct-to-user content app. So we benchmarked against:

• Enthusiast outlets like Motorcyclist.com
• Digital content platforms like The Athletic and ESPN
  These informed our early content flow and interaction models.

Design & Prototyping

Key UX Priorities:

• Simple navigation & tagging
• Fresh, curated content surfaced first
• Clean reading experience with minimal ad disruption
• Accessible, brand-consistent UI system

Feature Highlights:

• Customizable user preferences
• Mobile-first layouts with web accessibility
• Potential user profile integration (long-term vision)

Visual Exploration:
Using Yamaha’s brand guidelines as a base, I created high-fidelity mobile prototypes to explore the experience across key touchpoints. The app design emphasized editorial flow, vibrant visuals, and clear typography for on-the-go use.

Systems & Considerations

Feature Roadmap Included:

• Centralized user profiles (future enhancement)
• Data tagging system for content curation
• Responsive design across devices

Development Debates:

• Should this be a native app or a responsive web platform?
• Would users benefit from login-based personalization?

Deliverables

• UX research summary
• Wireframes and interaction flows
• High-fidelity mockups for key screens
• Presentation deck for executive review

Key Learnings

1. Start with Accessibility in Mind
   This project taught me the value of embedding accessibility at the start — not retrofitting it later.
2. Design for Long-Term Flexibility
   While apps were dominant at the time, I now see that a responsive web platform would have been a more maintainable and scalable solution.
3. Product Thinking Over Aesthetics
   Working on MyYamaha shifted my perspective from just making things “look good” to building user-centric, adaptable systems.

Retrospective Impact

Although it was a foundational project in an evolving digital space, MyYamaha gave our team (and Yamaha) a platform to rethink how digital experiences could better support enthusiasts — not just inform them, but connect them to the brand in real time.

This project was a springboard into my product design career, helping me develop UX instincts I’ve carried into every project since.

‍