Shaping Better Experience for AMD Software
3 Team Members
May - October 2025
Design System Guy
Overview
I worked on the foundation of AMD Software first design system.
AMD Software is a widely used platform for performance tuning, graphics management, and driver updates. I contributed to the redesign initiative for AMD Software, focusing on creating a cleaner, more accessible and more personalized experience. I worked closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to refine interaction patterns, and prototype new features that support more intuitive performance and graphics management for millions of users.
Highlights
We realized that AMD Software had the potential to reach far more people than just gamers. Since it ships pre-installed on many AMD-powered devices used for everyday work, the audience naturally includes office and general-purpose users as well. This sparked an essential question:
How do we design an experience that works for both casual and advanced users?
A New Direction for AMD Software
We realized that AMD Software had the potential to reach far more people than just gamers. Since it ships pre-installed on many AMD-powered devices used for everyday work, the audience naturally includes office and general-purpose users as well. This sparked an essential question:
How do we design an experience that works for both casual and advanced users?
Problem Space - A Little Bit of Chaos in the Interface
It’s important to recognize the main issues of the product. As the platform grew, inconsistencies emerged across the interface, and some workflows no longer aligned with modern UX standards.
Trial run 1.1 - UI components example
Identifying Key Pain Points Through Usability Testing
Navigation Challenges
To validate our assumptions, we ran usability testing on the current AMD Software to observe how users navigated key settings. We noticed repeated moments of confusion where users often struggled to locate features, and understand where to go next.
Trial run 1.1 - UI components example
When Features Aren’t Clear
Users also had trouble understanding certain features. Many settings used technical terminology or required knowledge that casual users didn’t have, which made it hard for them to know what each option did or how it would affect their system.
Trial run 1.1 - UI components example
Where We Saw Room to Grow
Overlay Mode
Existing overlay mode had strong potential but wasn’t fully utilized or easily discoverable. Many users wanted quick, in-context access to performance insights without leaving their app or game, highlighting a clear opportunity to improve its visibility and usability.
Trial run 1.1 - UI components example
Improved AI-Assistant
Around this time, the team introduced AMD Chat, a local AI assistant that helped users understand settings and troubleshoot issues. Seeing how easily people relied on it showed a clear opportunity to integrate it more deeply, allowing AMD Chat to support feature discovery and provide faster access to the tools users need.
Trial run 1.1 - UI components example
Phase A: Overlay View!
As we explored the opportunities around Overlay Mode and AMD Chat, it became clear that users needed two different levels of interaction. Some tasks required quick, in-context access to information, while others needed more depth and control. This led us to define two complementary views:
Full View
Offers deeper customization
More comprehensive settings and controls
Designed for advanced users.
Overlay View
Provides quick, in-context access
Simple controls and essential info
Supports users who prefer a lightweight experience
The Overlay View became our main focus because it introduces a completely new interaction model with features not yet available in AMD Software. Since it required the most foundational design and engineering work, establishing it first was essential before expanding into the Full View.
Structure
The new overlay sits as a lightweight layer over the user’s current screen, with a darkened background that reduces distractions while keeping the app or game visible. AMD Chat appears as the main interaction surface, and a side panel provides space for widgets and pinned content, giving users quick access to key information and actions.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
AI Assist Rework
Widgets as an Output
AI responses can appear in different forms depending on what the user needs. In most cases, the assistant provides a simple text-based LLM output, such as explanations or recommendations. However, when a user asks to enable a specific feature or perform an action that benefits from persistent guidance, the assistant generates a widget instead.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
Suggested Prompts
Suggested prompts appear as follow-up options based on the user’s question, letting them quickly ask related things and generate additional, context-aware answers without starting from scratch.
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Slash Command
Slash commands are quick shortcuts that start with “/” and trigger specific actions or requests to make common tasks faster and more predictable.
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Pinning Widgets
The pinning widgets panel allows users to keep important information on screen. When a chat response includes useful guidance or actions, it can be pinned as a widget so it stays visible whenever the overlay is opened. The panel also includes a notification page that displays any important software updates.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
Manually Adding Widgets
The pinning widgets panel allows users to keep important information on screen. When a chat response includes useful guidance or actions, it can be pinned as a widget so it stays visible whenever the overlay is opened. The panel also includes a notification page that displays any important software updates.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
Recording Made Simple
Instead of navigating through the full application, users can start and stop recordings directly from the overlay, allowing them to capture gameplay or troubleshooting moments without interrupting what they’re doing.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
In-Game Overlay
The pinning widgets panel allows users to keep important information on screen. When a chat response includes useful guidance or actions, it can be pinned as a widget so it stays visible whenever the overlay is opened. The panel also includes a notification page that displays any important software updates.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens
Phase B: The Big Dog aka Full View
The pinning widgets panel allows users to keep important information on screen. When a chat response includes useful guidance or actions, it can be pinned as a widget so it stays visible whenever the overlay is opened. The panel also includes a notification page that displays any important software updates.
Cheatsheet 1.1 - primitive color tokens