Yahoo! Weather with Flickr

Sr. Product Designer Lead

Solution Overview
The redesigned Yahoo! Weather with Flickr app (Android app) delivers a visually rich, location-aware weather experience by integrating dynamic background photography sourced from Yahoo! Flickr, a partner photo service. The app automatically pairs local weather conditions with relevant imagery and uses simple gestures to reveal or hide detailed information. By leveraging the device gyroscope, users can rotate from portrait to landscape to access expanded weather details instantly.

Key Features

  • Contextual Visual Experience - Auto-matched location photos dynamically populate the main screen, creating an immersive weather view.

  • Gesture-Driven Interface - Swipe up to toggle between full-screen photography and weather data; swipe left or right to switch saved locations.

  • Smart Use of Device Capabilities - Landscape rotation reveals extended weather details using the phone’s gyroscope.

  • Shareable Content - Users can share screenshots across social channels with quick-access menu options.

  • Home Screen Widget - A companion widget surfaces essential conditions, though early challenges with photo legibility informed future iterations.

Business Impact (within the first three months post-launch)

  • 60% improvement in app rating (2.5 to 4 stars)

  • Million+ downloads with rapid organic adoption

  • Global reach across 35 languages

  • Consistent user praise for balancing high-quality visuals with functional clarity

Long-Term Success

  • The app's market performance transformed organizational perception, securing sustained funding and resources from then CEO Marrisa Mayer. 

  • Transformed from neglected property to flagship product.

  • Established a scalable cross-platform design system, later adopted by iOS and contributing to an Apple Design Award in 2013.

Role & Responsibilities

  • Led projects from concept to launch, e.g., running design work sessions with product and development partners, creating user flows and prototypes, usability testing, and ensuring seamless implementation with development teams.

  • Balanced hands-on design work with product leadership, delivering mobile experiences while managing timelines and aligning cross-functional teams toward shared goals.

DESIGN - The screens below are showing a splash, a local weather location and full image view screens.

weather_1.png
weather_6.png

LOCALIZATION - Yahoo! Weather is available in 35 languages.

“I’m a 13 year old and I think this app is fantastic. Instead of looking at the news for the weather. I can look on here. Now i’ll know the apporpiate clothes to wear to school. :D” 5 Star rating.” – A user review from Cairo, Egypt
Localization

DETAILS - In the case below, the contrast of the panels are tested and iteratively adjusted to ensure that the component performs well with all image type and lighting conditions. We scrutinized every detail on the app to ensure we meet a high level of quality, accessibility and performance.

The details are not the details. They make the design. — Eames Office
weather_2.png

QUICK FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS - I designed the iconography using existing icon library working closely with the brand and Y! Illustration team. Showcased here is the feature set for the app. (These iconography was also included on the Yahoo! Weather iOS app.)

DEFAULT WEATHER ART In any case, when there is no location art or that a location art is in progress of loading, a default art will load in its place. I recreated the weather art using art available from the weather library to match the weather conditions.

weather_5.png

A Yahoo! Weather fan created a video on Youtube.

 

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT JET AT YAHOO!

Jet is a pleasure to work with as has been a wonderful and talented designer on our Yahoo! Weather for Android team. He brings a lot of energy and ideas to a project and expediently delivers great designs and assets.

Jet has the tenacity to jump into a project at any stage and with high risks, as supported by a fond memory of his work-marathon during the famed Yahoo! Hack Days (24 hour product innovation marathon) to work on our Weather team. The result - we won amongst 80+ other teams. Any team would be stronger for having such a strong design contributor.

Sr. Product Manager, Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Design partner at Yahoo! Weather

Jet is talented as well as motivated when it comes to design. He not only creates experiences that are visually attractive, but goes the extra step to make sure the implementation stacks up to his high standards. Jet would be an asset in any organization that values design.

Sr. Product Manager, Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Design partner at Yahoo! News