DRIVING CLOSED-LOOP GROWTH STRATEGIES

Growth Design for Creator Economy

Bunches is a mobile app where people discover group chats that connect creators with like-minded communities. As the founding designer, I navigated ambiguity to define a user experience that propelled the product from 0 to 1, driving remarkable growth and engagement.

I spearheaded the design for closed-loop growth strategies that integrated acquisition, retention, and monetization, creating a seamless ecosystem that users loved while setting the tone and design foundation for the company’s vision in the creator economy.

TEAM

1 Designer (Me as the Founding Designer)
1 PMs, 4 Engineers, 2 Business Partnership

MY ROLE

End-to-End Design | Design System | Prototyping | User Research | Cross-functional Collaboration | Product Roadmap

TIMELINE

Apr 2021 - Jan 2022

IMPACT

9,600%

increase in # of creators

100+

monthly subscribed chats

50K+

messages sent

Project Context

From the early days of UGC platforms in the 2000s to the influencer era of the 2010s, the creator economy has continually evolved. Bunches is established to empower modern creators, enabling them to connect, grow, and monetize their content effectively.

User Goals

The target users on Bunches include emerging and micro creators who are trying to build their online presence and gain recognition, thus bringing their followers onto the Bunches platform.

Problem Space

In reality, the growth flywheel was broken due to massive creator drop-off, inactive chats, and lack of monetization methods.

PROBLEM

Creator onboarding faces massive drop-off

Creators on Bunches have long suffered from an effortful way to start their own Bunch. They have to fill out a long and possibly confusing form on the web and wait for our team’s email for manual creation of the Bunch.

Graph Icon

Fragmented process

Significant drop-off throughout the multi-platform experience

Time Icon

User Education

Major part of customer support questions come from the process

Education Icon

Experts Monoply

Most of existing Bunches are started by experienced social media influencers

DESIGN APPROACH

Setting the tone...

Based on the user research findings, users would like a fast, simple, and joyful way to start a Bunch. Therefore we designed the process of starting a Bunch ultra fun and simple while still maintaining the basic usability and functionality.

IDEATION & ITERATION

Iterating a flow that balances speed and delight...

All the way from low-fi concepts to high-fi prototypes, we tested out different hypothesis to craft an experience that strikes the right amount of "wow" factor and efficiency.

FINAL DESIGN

A delightful, streamlined, and informative onboarding experience

A quick and simple sign-up experience

We shortened and simplified sign-up experience with user flexibility over App settings.

A fun and vibrating welcome flow

For the first-time Bunch starters, we'll show this welcome flow with educative information and illustrations to shed more light on the context.

Enter the information

Enter the Bunch info to best display and promote your Bunch to followers.

Don't worry, we've got your back:)

For those users who have not made the decision which category their Bunch beings to or which cover photo they'd like to use, we provide them with options to skip and placeholder images for them to use.

Yes, more user education!

In the new version, we added more explanation and tool-tip design in the proper timing as users are faced with the choices.

Easier share in the exact timing:)

Right after the Bunch is started, we'll present users with the share modal from where users can share their Bunch to their friends, followers, and fans to get started on chatting.

Woo, dark mode as well:P

We also design a whole set of dark mode screens for our dark mode fans.

IMPACT

Measuring the success...

After the launch of Start a Bunch, more than 95% of new users have joined Bunches, started a Bunch, and shared the Bunch within 2 minutes of their registration. Detailed analytics available upon request.

FINAL DESIGN

Elevated chatting with coherent visuals and intuitive functionality

A unified design system established from scratch

We shortened and simplified sign-up experience with user flexibility over App settings.

An interactive and joyful chatting experience

The updated core chat experience features interactive elements (GIFs/reactions/replies), engaging community conversations, and valuable responses to keep users connected and informed.

Keep highlighted content organized

We’ve launched the Highlights feature, designed to spotlight all save-worthy content in one centralized location for easier access and enhanced user experience.

IMPACT

Measuring the success...

After the launch of Start a Bunch, we've seen 50+K messages sent within several months that we launched the updated experience. Detailed analytics available upon request.

FINAL DESIGN

A streamlined and trustworthy payment experience

Tailored and action-based release note

By customizing the feature introduction message and accompanying image, we effectively cater the message and next step action to each specific user group.

An effortless payment flow with progressive disclosure

We provide a multi-step payment flow to make sure that users feel combortable to controlling the duration of subscription and payment amount they're selecting.

Reliable and reassuring confirmation with encouragement

We offer followers a way to confirm the subscription details before finalizing, so that they feel confident about their purchase. Additionally, the encouraging message will make the payment more intimate and less transactional.

Wallet

We launched waller feature to help followers keep track of their balance, and I designed a 5-day campaign to boost engagement.

IMPACT

Measuring the success...

After the launch of payment feature, we've had 100+ paid Bunches within several months. Detailed analytics available upon request.