Google | Local ads

Sr. Interaction Designer

Enabling local businesses tell their story and let the end users lean back and get a comprehensive overview of the expected experience, through better, easier, and emotional UX.

Enabling local businesses tell their story and let the end users lean back and get a comprehensive overview of the expected experience, through better, easier, and emotional UX.


M3 Expressive

Partners in Crime:

The Challenge

Enabling local businesses tell their story and let the end users lean back and get a comprehensive overview of the expected experience, through better, easier, and emotional UX.

Enabling local businesses tell their story and let the end users lean back and get a comprehensive overview of the expected experience, through better, easier, and emotional UX.

Partners in Crime:

@Chris Ramirez-visual design

Tough to connect the dots.

Tough to connect the dots.

A lot of mental quilting to understand what the experience will be like.

Evolved rich content expectations.

Evolved rich content expectations.

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process.

Uncertainty about what to trust

Uncertainty about what to trust

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs

During early research, a CRUST survey revealed that many navigation and chain queries—such as searching for a restaurant brand or category—carry a strong exploratory intent. Users weren’t just looking for a specific location; they wanted to compare options, preview experiences, and feel confident before making a decision.

01.

Tough to connect the dots.

A lot of mental quilting to understand what the experience will be like.

02.

Evolved rich content expectations.

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process.

03.

Uncertainty about what to trust

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs

What best describes the type of businesses you were looking for when you searched for [query_text)?

Grace Johnson

~ nail salons near me, Maps

I was looking for a place with consistent ratings, clear pricing, and clean-looking interiors. I don’t have time to guess or jump between apps. The more I can tell from the preview, the better.

Tom Nguyen

~ Survey Participant, Google Maps

I decide in seconds based on visuals. If I can’t get a quick sense of what the space looks like or what they offer, I lose interest fast.

Alisha Singh

~ Survey Participant, Google Maps

I don’t want perfect stock images. Show me what it really looks like so I know what to expect. That kind of honesty makes me trust the place more.

Design response hypothesis

Can a visually structured, narrative-based local ad format reduce decision fatigue and help users more confidently choose a business , and by delivering relevant information in a way that feels trustworthy, relatable, and easy to digest? At the same time, how might we explore and test Material 3 expressive design system to elevate visual storytelling, emotional clarity, and overall usability within this new ad experience?

Can a visually structured, narrative-based local ad format reduce decision fatigue and help users more confidently choose a business , and by delivering relevant information in a way that feels trustworthy, relatable, and easy to digest? At the same time, how might we explore and test Material 3 expressive design system to elevate visual storytelling, emotional clarity, and overall usability within this new ad experience?

My Role:

Led the end-to-end discovery and design

Tough to connect the dots.

A lot of mental quilting to understand what the experience will be like.

Quality Evals

Use of Photo, label, review accuracy

Story cohesiveness

Retention

Multi-day retention

CRUST UXR

Happiness & Satisfaction

Helpfulness & Task Success

Story Metrics

% Complete

% Frames Viewed
% Bookend CTR

% Shares

Whole Page

SUNs
GlorLV

Long Views

Contributor Metrics

Content impressions

Local ads story strucure

Emphasizing the vibe, aesthetic, and offerings—especially through user-generated content—takes precedence in delivering impactful and authentic local storytelling.

Crafting a structured narrative helped streamline the user experience and reduce cognitive load. By designing story flows that reflect real-life user journeys, I aimed to boost engagement and create more immersive, relatable experiences.

CRUST Metrics here

Partners in Crime:

@Chris Ramirez-visual design

Research showed that subtle, well-timed interactions and contextual cues can guide user behavior seamlessly. These findings informed design choices that feel intuitive and reduce friction in key moments.

Uncertainty about what to trust

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process.

Uncertainty about what to trust

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs

Sitemap to

Wireframe

Achieve your first draft in the first minute. Sit back and watch Ai magically turn your Sitemap into wireframes in one click generating real components un-styled with copy. Getting sign off has never been so easy.

Editing super powers

Generate copy or add new components from our library. You're in control, not the AI

No AI-template gimmicks

Utilize our library of over 1000+ real components ready to export to Figma, Webflow or React

Highlights with Gemini

Leveraging Gemini's NLP( Natural language processing ), extracted key insights and user sentiment from reviews, presenting them as concise and informative highlights or suggestions.

Highlights with Gemini

Leveraging Gemini's NLP( Natural language processing ), extracted key insights and user sentiment from reviews, presenting them as concise and informative highlights or suggestions.

Through visual storytelling, I established a closer connection between service providers at a granular level, facilitating effective decision-making for users.

Through visual storytelling, I established a closer connection between service providers at a granular level, facilitating effective decision-making for users.

This approach provided a branded experience through a single, universal viewer while also harnessing the power of visual evidence to build trust.

Highlights with Gemini

Leveraging Gemini's NLP( Natural language processing ), extracted key insights and user sentiment from reviews, presenting them as concise and informative highlights or suggestions.

Ad badging

Ad Creative
system


Ad Creative
system


I explored design options to scale for user intent and to support many advertiser types and sizes, motivated by increasing user value, user engagement, and showcasing more merchant details that help to tell the 'brand story.'

Designed to scale for user intent and to support many advertiser types and sizes with a motivation of Increase user value, Increase user engagement and Showcase more merchant information that helps to tell the "brand story".

Real stories from real people breathe authenticity into content, nurturing trust and relatability. When content mirrors the lives of regular individuals, it not only bolsters trust but also bridges the gap between experiences, making them feel attainable.

Ultimate and simple controls ensure effortless use at a comfortable pace.

Easy pathways to related content help users find what they're looking for.

The Result

The Result

Local stories resonated with users. In our latest UX test with 800 participants, local stories proved valuable for user experience. They provided context for features, offered a structured narrative for complex tasks, added a human touch that fostered user connection, and were especially engaging when presented as moving images.

Bouncing rate decreased by 38% in both food and service verticals.

Conversion rate increased ( Can not share the actual number here)

NPS & CSAT increased significantly.

Time-on-Task decreased specifically on food verticals.

Real local user testimonials

Eva H.

~ Survey Participant, Google Maps

What I mostly liked was the ability to see the location and details in visual form. Since this business was a restaurant, I appreciated the fact that you can see the reviews of the food along with a photo of the food itself.

Daniel Zeru

~ Survey Participant, Google Search

If I want to eat out then I usually do research on Yelp, Google, Facebook, and Instagram to check out restaurants that appeal to me.This feature is helpful because it will consolidate my research and make it much easier.

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The challenge

As user expectations for local search experiences evolve, traditional local ads no longer resonate; lacking authenticity, depth, and emotional connection. To address this, I explored a new approach to storytelling that brings local businesses to life through visual narratives, generative AI (Gemini), and user-generated content. In parallel, I collaborated with the design systems team to evaluate how Material 3 expression could support this vision and scale consistently across surfaces.

Attribution

Users told us that attribution is important for judging information quality, still need to explore/test across more use cases and content types.

Vertical vs Horizontal Scrolling

Vertical scrolling led to more swipes within the viewer for CUJs like inspiration and overall higher engagement, without unintentionally decreasing user satisfaction in the process.

Vertical vs Horizontal Scrolling

The simplest designs were seen by users as the most useful, however, an image alone is not enough. Certain intents require more density of visual and text information and until I am better able to understand intents I was careful about automatically applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

01.


Tough to connect the dots

01.
Tough to connect the dots

A lot of mental quilting to understand what the experience will be like

02.


Evolved rich content expectations

02.
Evolved rich content expectations

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process

03.

Uncertainty about what to trust

03.
Uncertainty about what to trust

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs

Creating a streamlined and Marketplace experience presents a significant opportunity to drive greater internal user adoption and data utilization. By making it easy for engineers, scientists, analysts, and other Chevron employees to navigate, understand, and access high-quality data, we can foster a more data-driven culture, leading to more efficient workflows, enhanced collaboration across teams, and the generation of deeper insights that can optimize operations and drive strategic initiatives.

Led product and UX strategy for a new ad format on Google Search and Maps, focused on local businesses. The experience centered around visual storytelling and integrated AI-driven insights from user-generated content, enhanced by vibrant colors, intuitive motion, adaptive components, flexible typography, and contrasting shapes.

Users pain points and design response hypothesis

How can I get more diverse recommendations that match my lifestyle?

Launch Excellence

Can a visually structured, narrative-based local ad format reduce decision fatigue and help users more confidently choose a business—by delivering relevant information in a way that feels trustworthy, relatable, and easy to digest?

Let the ride began

Creating a streamlined and Marketplace experience presents a significant opportunity to drive greater internal user adoption and data utilization. By making it easy for engineers, scientists, analysts, and other Chevron employees to navigate, understand, and access high-quality data, we can foster a more data-driven culture, leading to more efficient workflows, enhanced collaboration across teams, and the generation of deeper insights that can optimize operations and drive strategic initiatives.

During early research, a CRUST survey revealed that many navigation and chain queries—such as searching for a restaurant brand or category—carry a strong exploratory intent. Users weren’t just looking for a specific location; they wanted to compare options, preview experiences, and feel confident before making a decision.

01.

Tough to connect the dots.

A lot of mental quilting to understand what the experience will be like.

02.

Evolved rich content expectations.

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process.

03.

Uncertainty about what to trust

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs

What best describes the type of businesses you were looking for when you searched for [query_text)?

Eva H.

~ nail salons near me, Maps

I was looking for a place with consistent ratings, clear pricing, and clean-looking interiors. I don’t have time to guess or jump between apps. The more I can tell from the preview, the better.

Eva H.

~ Survey Participant, Google Maps

Users turning towards more visually forward experiences for intangible details missing on the placesheet that is critical to the decision-making process.

Eva H.

~ Survey Participant, Google Maps

Users seek subjective information and social proof that is required to find places that are a good fit for their individual needs