Cricut Joy mobile app
An intuitive design & crafting app that helps anyone feel like a pro — even first-time makers.
Challenge
Cricut’s existing desktop software overwhelmed beginners. The new compact Cricut Joy™ machine needed a simpler, mobile-first experience that non-crafters could use confidently.
Solution
Led 0→1 design for a brand-new mobile app built around guided projects, smart defaults, and live previews. I reimagined every touchpoint — from unboxing to “Make It” — so users never felt lost.
Impact
In addition to the metrics above, this app became a proof-of-concept model for the design principles, behaviors, and visual language needed to modernize and simplify Cricut's legacy software — for all of its machines and users.
Role
Principal Product Designer
Contribution
Led end-to-end UX for iOS + Android, guided junior designers, partnered with Execs + PM + Eng on MVP scope, and helped define the foundation of Cricut’s new design system.
Collaborators
Supporting UX designers, Visual Design, Product Management, Content Strategy, Industrial Design, Accessories & Materials team, Engineering, UX Research, Analytics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Legal, Education, Marketing, and Executives.
Timeline
0→MVP in 2 years
The Challenge
Business Needs
To capture a new customer segment researchers identified as "creative non-crafters". Cricut's legacy software was not intuitive nor modern, and did not support speed-to-innovation; a new software experience was needed.
Constraints
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New, smaller cutting machine
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New matless materials and accessories
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No hardware buttons (software-only controls)
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Mobile only (iOS & Android)
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Supports only Cutting, Drawing, & Foil Application
Success Criteria
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Activation and test project success rate
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Monthly active users / completed projects
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Star ratings and CSAT
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Low volume of Member Care calls
Gathering Insights into New Users
Discovery
Cricut engaged Swim Interaction Design Studio to research, conceptualize, and ultimately design an innovative mobile experience for these new Cricut Joy users. We began by getting a thorough history of Cricut, its products, its user base, its competitors, and its challenges. We then engaged in a heuristic evaluation of the legacy software and holistic user experience, identifying pain points throughout.
Ethnographies
We identified members of the new target audience, observing them and their creative processes in their homes.
Concept Testing
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3 rounds of testing with prototypes
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Designs were revised between rounds of testing
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17 total subjects
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Conducted in San Francisco and Salt Lake City
Insights
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Users were not experienced crafters or designers; they needed hand-holding, not a blank canvas.
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Fear of failure and ruining materials was real.
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Project imagery was good for inspiration, but users didn't want to make predesigned projects. Unlocking creative potential and opportunities for personalization was key.
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Instructional copy needed to be precise.
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Key use cases emerged — simple vinyl decals, labels, iron-ons, cards, and papercrafts.
KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES
GUIDED FLOWS
CLEAR NAVIGATION
SMART DEFAULTS
SIMPLIFIED CONTROLS
WYSIWYG
CONTEXTUAL HELP
Early Collaborators
Team
I worked closely with UX, Product Managment, Industrial Design, Engineering, Project Designers, Customer Insights, and the EVP of Product, Design, Brand during the definitional phases of the project.
Operating Model
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Phase 0 Design Sprints
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Ongoing biweekly design reviews (concepts, wireframes, prototypes)
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Research and testing share-outs, as needed
Defining a New System Architecture
While we had Cricut’s legacy software, Design Space, as a reference point, I designed the new app entirely from the ground up to meet non-crafter user needs.
To ensure a cohesive experience, I considered all aspects of the app as a system, with an eye towards extensibility:
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Unboxing/Activation → First Cut (test project)
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App navigation
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Clear distinction between software and hardware interactions
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Guided projects with landmark screens (see below)
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Project / material-based assembly instructions
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Contextual help links and videos
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Error messages and empty states
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Settings
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Subscription messaging and upsells
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Consistent tone in copy throughout
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Transitions and micro-interactions
Risks
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User adoption
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New interaction models
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Bounded vs. open canvas
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Error recovery
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No project sharing with legacy software
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No one-off content purchases in-app
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Same subscription price as legacy software, but with considerably less functionality
Guardrails
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Smart defaults
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Progressive disclosure
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Contextual functional constraints to minimize errors
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Confirmations of success
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Auto-save
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Precise instructional copy
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Actionable error messages
New Framework: End-to-End Guided Projects
Establishing Design Possibilities
Use-case based Entry Points
Forcing the user to choose a use case upstream allowed us to guide the user through the project with smart defaults, functional constraints, and contextual instructions. In addition, this model allowed Cricut to gather more data about users' behaviors before connecting to the machine (as was the case in the legacy software).
Heuristic evaluations, stakeholder input, and user testing provided strong evidence that this was the correct approach.
Options Considered and Rejected
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More granular material-based projects (e.g., iron-on on the sleeve of a tee)
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Personalized project feed
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Purchasable “kits” with included design options
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Most ready-to-make projects
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Starting with a blank canvas, sans parameters
Impact
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Reduced user confusion
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Provided strong metrics around user behaviors and preferred materials
Complex Concepts, Simplified
Prominent Operation Selector
The Operation selector is critical to helping users understand what their output will look like. It allows for pre-visualization and straightforward manipulation to achieve desired results (Cut, Cut-out, Pen, Foil). Positive/negative cuts rendered with drop shadows clearly distinguish figure vs ground.
In the legacy software, users often didn’t understand when to use the functions Attach, Booleans, and Group; even if users knew about Attach, they often forgot to do it. Introducing the Cut-out operation and auto-flattening all designs obviated the need for Attach, Group, and Booleans.
Options Considered and Rejected
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Pen fill operation: highly desired, but the technical execution did not meet desired expectations.
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Legacy software model: no Cut-out operation, no distinction between figure / ground; Operation selector was not in close proximity to the selected object.
Impact
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Faster onboarding
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Less material waste
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More confident users:
"Even my kindergarten students could figure it out with very little explanation."
Ensuring Success, During & After Cutting
Step-by-step flows to Make and Assemble Projects
In Cricut's legacy software, steps for material selection, inserting tools, and loading materials into the machine all occur on one screen, with little room for text instructions.
After testing numerous iterations (illustrations, photography, etc.) one model was a clear winner — all machine interactions are presented as discrete steps, each with accompanying video renderings and detailed written instructions. When the machine interactions are complete, the user receives detailed assembly instructions (as determined by use case, material, and load style).
Impact
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Faster onboarding
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Fewer failed projects and less wasted material
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More confident users
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Happy reviewers
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More granular metrics
True WYSIWYG Design
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The image here shows the exact same card project, as viewed in the legacy software vs. the Cricut Joy app.
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In the legacy software, there is no clear distinction between figure and ground, or between the front and inside of the card. The physical card isn't even represented.
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The new WYIWYG model allows users to quickly understand the physical output of their designs while guiding them to a successful outcome.
Real Material Swatches
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By forcing users to start with a material-based use case, the Cricut Joy app is able to display a limited set of real material swatches, instead of a generic color palette.
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Instead of guessing or approximating the end result, users can try out different color combinations in the app before cutting any materials (thereby saving them from recutting if they don't like the finished colors IRL).
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A chance for delight — it's not only useful, it's fun to use!
Video Renderings of Complex Steps
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The legacy software includes controls for material selection and tiny illustrations for inserting a tool and then loading the mat/material into the machine.
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By contrast, in the Cricut joy app users have indicated their materials upstream in the process. A full screen is dedicated to the first step: preparing and loading the material into the machine.
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Subsequent screens show renderings and instructions for inserting the proper tools, continuing in this step-by-step process until the project is finished.
Unboxing, Activation, & First Cut
Test Details
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Using a prototoype on an iPhone, we tested 5 subjects in San Francisco who fit the criteria of "creative non-crafter"
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Props included machine packaging (not shown here), an early non-working ID model of the Cricut Joy machine, materials, mats, accessories, instructions, pre-cut projects on mats, and an iPad video showing a close-up of material being cut on a Cricut cutting machine (synced to the app prototype's display).
Outcomes
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We tested for comprehension, mental model, usability, perceived difficulty and time-to-completion, successful first cut, confidence, and fun.
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All test subjects were unfamiliar with cutting machines, and found the process to be easy and enjoyable.
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This process gave users a good introduction into the machine and its capabilities, but users wanted to explore the app and play with it more before being presented with subscription offerings.
Make It & Project Assembly
Test Details
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We tested Make It and Assembly flows in two rounds (with revisions in between):
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5 inexperienced users in San Francisco
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5 experienced crafters in Salt Lake City
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In this test, we had a working model of the new Cricut Joy machine (housed in foam core for secrecy) that interacted with the legacy software app on one device; a separate device with the prototype for testing was given to the subject. The test moderator controlled the machine in sync with the subject using the prototype.
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Props included materials, mats, tools, accessories, and instructions.
Outcomes
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After the first round of testing, I identified design patterns that were not working or were not intuitive. One example is the screen shown above — it had too many controls, and thus the primary actions required were not obvious to users.
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I revised the prototype for the second round of testing, which confirmed that complex or unfamiliar concepts needed to be broken in to discrete, easy-to-understand steps.
Shipping the MVP & Beyond
Scoping the MVP
After the team had aligned on design concepts and directions, I created a spreadsheet to track functionality, fonts, labels, colors, APIs, educational & help content, and error messages (shown above). We used this to define scope for MVP and a fast-follow, and to identify open questions or needs for in-scope items.
For MVP we cut A LOT. We needed to strike a balance of speed-to-market and enough functionality to drive user adoption. The pressure to release ASAP was intense — the Cricut Joy machine had already been launched into the market (using the legacy software).
Platform Details
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iOS first, then Android
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Software API integrations
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Hardware integrations
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BTE connection, no direct connection by cord
Product, Design, and Development Partnership
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I provided original written behavioral specs, flow charts, and many prototypes; Product Management turned these into acceptance criteria for Development and QA.
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I then worked closely with the developers to define all transitions and micro-interactions.
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The team reviewed all relevant prototypes and AC together at the beginning of each sprint.
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Design did independent UX QA reviews before passing to dev QA.
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Post-launch, this became the new model for product teams at Cricut.
I've used other cutting products but none have been as easy to use as this. I'm still a newby but this machine makes me feel like a pro.
5-star App Store Review
*****
This machine is an absolute delight and the app is extremely user friendly. I love it.
5-star App Store Review
The app asks questions and is 'leading' in the way that it is structured. I was not surprised to see that even my kindergarten students could figure it out with very little explanation.
CSAT user feedback
I love the simplicity of the app for quick cuts, cards, and labels. Unfortunately Design Space [existing software] just doesn't work as well with the Joy for simple stuff.
Satisfied Australian user
Impacting the Organization
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Before the Cricut Joy app launched, Cricut had no design system; its visuals were outdated and highly inconsistent.
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The new visual design for the Cricut Joy app not only updated and modernized the look-and-feel of Cricut software, it also served as a foundation for building a design system for all of Cricut's digital properties.
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The Cricut Joy app team modeled an Agile working style (then new to Cricut) that was later adopted across the organization.
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Key design principles from the Cricut Joy app still drive the strategic roadmap for updating the legacy software (e.g., use-case based entry points, parameter setup, constrained canvas, live preview, auto-booleans, etc.)
Automatic Layer Flattening with Real-time Visual Depiction
Auto-Attach, Auto-Flatten, Auto-Booleans
In Cricut's legacy software, users often didn’t understand when to use the critical Attach function and Booleans (Weld, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude); even if users knew about Attach, they often forgot to do it.
In the Cricut Joy app, we introduced the Cut-out operation and non-destructively auto-flattened all objects to obviate the need for Attach and complex Boolean functions.
The Operation selector is critical to helping users understand what their output will look like. It allows for pre-visualization and straightforward manipulation to achieve desired results (Cut, Cut-out, Pen, Foil). Positive/negative cuts rendered with drop shadows clearly distinguish figure vs ground.
Island Detection in Stencil Design
New Materials, Familiar Problems
With the launch of the Cricut Joy™ cutting machine, Cricut also debuted a new material: Insert Cards.
Insert Cards — folded cards with contrasting inserts, which are slotted into corner cuts made by the cutting machine; no adhesive needed — posed a design challenge. Since the insert is not adhesive, the cut design on the front must be a stencil or unconnected portions of the design will fall out.
I worked with Project Management and the Machine Learning team to develop an algorithm that would analyze designs in real time to determine if there were "islands" — unattached pieces.
In conjunction with the algorithm, I designed an interface that identifies any islands and provides a warning to the user while in the editing state. The design preview then displays the expected output, i.e., the design sans islands.
This algorithm has proven useful beyond this use case for other stenciling design needs, as well as for features like Offset and Text-to-Image.
Extending Cricut Joy's Capabilities
New Use Cases I Designed (But Were Not Built)
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Mugs + Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets or Pens
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Coasters + Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets or Pens
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Vinyl Designs for iPhone & Android Phone Covers
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Hats + Iron-on or Infusible Ink
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Expanded labels selection and functionality
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Quickstart Banners, Tags, and Confetti
Planned Incremental Improvements
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Undo and Redo controls
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Ability to multi-select objects
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Curve / warp text
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Expanded font selections
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Editable card designs
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Support for non-Cricut materials
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Support for vertical text (e.g., Japanese)
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Right-to-Left app interface for Hebrew, Arabic, etc.
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E-comm integration
Expanding to All Machines, Materials, & Platforms
Designing for the Future
Taking everything I learned from the Cricut Joy app, I began exploring designs that would keep the key principles and interaction models and expand them for all Cricut machines, materials, and platforms, including desktop.
In addition to addressing complexities that came with supporting more robust machines (e.g., more tools, more materials, more overall functionality), I also explored:
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Advanced Mode for designing 3D objects
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Generative AI: Text-to-Image that is contextually aware of material and project-based needs (e.g., layering strategies for different materials, stencils required, etc.)
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Generative AI: Text-to-Project, also appropriate for materials and contexts
BEFORE: Cricut's Legacy Desktop Software
AFTER: Interface Reimagined à la Cricut Joy App
FUTURE: Further Design Explorations & Visual Refinements
