Serina Li Portfolio

Designing AI-powered news for effortless listening.

LISPRESSO · AI NEWS STARTUP

TIMELINE

June '25 - September '25

ROLE

Head Designer

TOOLS

Figma

Adobe Illustrator

CONTRIBUTION

End-to-end UX

User Research

TLDR

Top headlines turned into bite-sized, AI-narrated audio updates. News that matters to you.

As the head designer at Lispresso, I owned the product design process: from user research and skeleton designs to handoff with engineers. I collaborated with teams to redefine navigation, simplify usability, and ship a polished MVP with 3 targeted goals.

Personalized News Feed

AI curates a daily playlist of headlines matched to your interests and listening habits.

Audio-First Experience

Every article is narrated by AI, turning reading into effortless listening on the go.

Frictionless Navigation

A clean, distraction-free interface lets users find and play news in seconds, not minutes.

How might we turn passive news browsing into an effortless, personalized listening experience that fits into everyday life?

OUR MAIN FEATURE

The original app buried its core value under complexity.

When I joined, the existing UI had cluttered navigation, redundant information, and unclear pathways to the app's main feature: the curated daily playlist.

The Problem

Cluttered, confusing UX

The original design failed to follow visual hierarchy, calls to action, and didn't communicate the app's value at first glance.

The Solution

Simplified, value-first flows

I redesigned the user flow to prioritize the daily playlist's accessibility, communicating the company's value within seconds of opening the app.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

Transforming user navigation through usability testing & feedback-driven prototypes.

Partnering with cross-functional teams, I drove early stage user flow solutions for strategic alignment and feasibility for a smooth final product shipment.

Mapping pain points and potential solutions

SOLUTION

Transforming the experience through 3 key design features.

Rather than a surface-level visual refresh, I restructured the architecture to put the user's daily news playlist front and center.

Value-first onboarding

Users understand the product from the start with a clear call to action and tagline that blend together easily.

Your daily curated playlist

With the playlist integrated as the home screen, users can easily access what they need without extra steps.

News with a soundtrack

Explored customizable background audio to make news more engaging through an intuitive, immersive toggle.

IMPACT

Shipped a polished, investor-ready product as the lead designer.

Collaborated with the founder and engineering team to improve clarity and usability, resulting in a more polished product for investor pitches and early users.

100%

Coverage across research, UX, and visual design

Reduction in navigation steps to reach core feature

0→1

Designer. Owned the full design system and shipped solo

WHAT I LEARNED

Autonomy taught me to build my own feedback loops.

This was one of my first experiences being a lead designer. I learned to actively seek direction when needed by bringing decisions to the team regularly, testing ideas against competitor products, and grounding choices in design principles when instinct alone wasn't enough.

Ownership deepens understanding

Being responsible for design decisions taught me to be more articulate with reasonings, design ideas, and solutions. I learned to validate my own thinking through testing before bringing it to stakeholders. That process made me a more intentional designer.

Constraints sharpen prioritization

Working in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with limited resources taught me to prioritize essential elements over low-priority items. Adapting to fast-moving timelines and evolving requirements pushed me to be more resourceful and deliberate in my approach.

Click me to view my other works!