SingStar / DanceStar

A new generation of play

I joined Sony as a Senior Designer and progressed through Principal and Lead Designer to Creative Director on SingStar for PS4. Across that journey, I helped shape the franchise’s gameplay, interfaces and creative direction.

For PS4, I set the product vision and strategic direction, bringing together Vision R&D, mobile development, UX and analytics. The goal was to balance fresh technology with what players loved about singing together.

Making music easy to discover

I reimagined the PS4 interface around a growing digital catalogue, drawing on years of experience with both small and large song libraries. The result focused on intuitive navigation, accessibility and the recognisable character of SingStar.

Technology that gets out of the way

Voice control removed the need to switch between microphone and controller. I designed a client-side recognition system supporting more than 3,000 songs and five languages, including multiple spoken languages active at once.

I also designed a PSP second-screen experience for browsing songs and making playlists without interrupting a performance. It later extended to PS Vita.

• Voice control architecture, UX flows and user testing
• Second-screen browsing and Remote Play
• Rap-vocal speech recognition technology
• Disc-swap design and development

From the living room to the dance floor

As Lead Designer on DanceStar, I shaped the experience around PlayStation Move and camera interaction. I also directed professional dance shoots and developed a recording and transcription system that cut content implementation from days to hours.

It started with a party

On SingStar Party, I redesigned the multiplayer user journey that went on to underpin the PS2 and PS3 games. I designed features including Duet mode, Pass the Mic, Medleys and EyeToy camera effects, and helped establish tools for a heavily localised release programme. SingStar and SingStar Party received the BAFTA for Originality.