Gift

Redesigning the onboarding experience and developing features to support group communication.

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background

Over the course of 21 weeks, I collaborated with the social media startup Gift to redesign their onboarding experience and develop new features for group communication. As users grow increasingly dissatisfied with traditional social media apps, there's a rising demand for platforms that prioritize authenticity and connection. Gift meets this need by helping people celebrate meaningful relationships and connect with communities that share their core interests.

see the prototype

project type

Product Design Internship

role

Product Designer — Conducted interviews, desktop research, competitive analysis, questioned stakeholders, concept ideation, designs and wire framing.

timeline

January to June 2025 (6 months)

team

Arthur Jensen (Solo Project)‍

problem

Gift's features were confusing, the onboarding lacked context, and users felt hesitant to engage in group chats—some even felt like they were intruding on conversations.

solution

To address this, I redesigned the onboarding flow to clearly communicate the app’s purpose and created a new feature that makes community spaces more welcoming—helping users feel seen, build trust, and stay engaged over time.

impact

Redesigned the onboarding with new screens, built an interactive prototype for new features, and enhanced the company’s demo and pitch deck to communicate product vision and business value to investors.

introduction

Reimagining Social Connection with Gift

Gift is a new social platform focused on authentic relationships that combines messaging, groups, and personal profiles to help users express themselves.
After learning about Gift’s mission to foster authentic connections, I saw a strong alignment with my own goals—so I reached out and proposed an internship.

Designing at a cafe, meeting Gift CEO David Lampert, and the Gift logo — highlights from my project.

Usability tests

Conducting Usability Tests to Understand User Pain Points During Onboarding

Designed and conducted one moderated and five unmoderated usability tests to evaluate Gift’s onboarding flow, uncovering critical issues in user guidance and clarity.
Created targeted task scenarios and feedback prompts to observe user behavior, leading to actionable insights that directly informed design improvements.

"I would say the onboarding was intuitive and made it easy to get started, but it wasn't really informative."

Anonymous Tester

Power User

The app’s unclear language contributed to a confusion.

"Did the onboarding effectively introduced the app's purpose and features? I don't think so. I think after I was done with the onboarding, I was just swiping and swiping."

Anonymous Tester

Web Expert

Some screens lacked essential user context and microcopy.

"I don't really understand what this app is, if I'm being honest, it looks like some type of Pixar app maybe, or anything, I'm not really sure exactly what the app is, is my only confusion."

Anonymous Tester

Regular User

The mission was introduced too late, leaving its purpose unclear.

ux design

Idenitfying the Onboarding Problems

Synthesized usability test findings to identify key pain points, particularly lack of context, and proposed targeted redesign solutions.
Presented design recommendations to stakeholders and received strong positive feedback, reinforcing alignment with user and business needs.

Before and after: clearer profile photo screen guides authentic self-expression.

REDESIGN 1

Providing Guidance in Profile Photo Selection

Users were confused by the unclear tone when choosing a profile photo, unsure whether to be serious or silly.
Redesigned the screen with clearer copy and microcopy to guide users toward authentic self-presentation.

Before and after: onboarding clarifies user goals with clear community choices.

REDESIGN 2

Improving Onboarding by Prioritizing User Interests Over Unfamiliar Profiles

Onboarding showed unfamiliar profiles without understanding users’ goals.
Redesigned to first ask about communities or topics, displaying clear community options instead.

Before and after: onboarding introduces Gift’s purpose earlier for stronger connection.

REDESIGN 3

Introducing Purpose Earlier to Strengthen User Understanding

Gift’s purpose and mission were introduced too late in onboarding, missing the chance to provide early context and build connection.
Designed three new screens to introduce the app’s purpose earlier and guide users on how to use it.

Problem

Community Chats Feel Too Generic and Impersonal

Tasked by stakeholders, I was responsible for designing a new feature that would allow users to create subgroups within larger groups; something not yet available on Gift.
I interviewed social media users who said that being able to customize chats within larger groups would make them more social and personal on the app.

Two screens showing the current flow: users enter a single group chat.

current flow

Existing Group Chat Flow

Users are dropped directly into a single community group chat with no option to create or explore subgroups.
The goal is to give users the ability to create and manage subgroups within larger community groups, enabling more personalized conversations.

Competitive analysis

Analyzing Competitors to Inform Subgroup Creation

After defining the goal, I researched how other social platforms enable personalized group conversations through subgroups.
To inform the design, I researched platforms like Discord and Telegram, analyzing how they structure subgroup functionality to inspire solutions tailored to Gift’s needs.

Chart depicting ALOUD Archives user preferences.

Discord screen showing customizable group chats.

Discord

Discord allows users to create channels wihtin servers, though some users find the structure overwhelming or hard to follow.

Telegram screen showing nested, customizable chats.

Telegram’s nested chats offer a streamlined experience that helped me balance structure with simplicity.

Prototyping

Visualizing the New Subgroup Feature for More Personal Group Messaging

I designed a new screen, embedded it within the existing flow, and built it in Figma to help stakeholders visualize the experience.
I created a style guide that integrates our new color palette with Snapchat's brand guidelines, drawing inspiration from other current features.

Mud/Wtr Gather screen with a general chat and subgroups to personalize the group experience.

New SCreen

Existing Group Chat Flow

When users open a community group, they land on a screen featuring a main chat and supporting subgroups.
I designed this screen to let users create subgroups, such as West LA Boba, Yoga, or Hiking, to personalize and organize their group experience.

solutions

Gift: Product Design Internship Work

My work focused on improving Gift’s onboarding experience and introducing a new feature for personalized subgroups, helping users connect more meaningfully within communities. To see these improvements in action, I invite you to explore the interactive prototype and experience the flow firsthand.

see it live

FINAL SOLUTIONS

Improving Onboarding and Enabling Subgroup Creation in Group Messaging

Redesigned onboarding to introduce Gift’s purpose early, improve clarity, and guide users through interest selection and social account connections.
Designed a screen that enables users to create and manage personalized subgroups within larger communities for a more tailored and connected experience.

Screens showcasing the final redesigned onboarding flow.

Onboarding

Redesigned Screens to Fix Onboarding Confusion

The onboarding begins with an app preview, followed by screens introducing Gift’s purpose and key features. I improved clarity by adding copy, aligning content, and standardizing buttons. Finally, users select interests and can connect social accounts to find friends.

Screens showing users selecting a community and managing personalized subgroups for a tailored experience.

group messaging

Designing a Feature to Create Subgroups

I designed a screen for creating and managing personalized subgroups within larger communities. From a main chat overview, users select a community and access a page with a general chat and customizable subgroups. These subgroups let users personalize their experience and connect with others.

reflection

From UX/UI to Strategy: Strengthening Communication and Stakeholder Collaboration

This project was more than just UX/UI design—it was a valuable opportunity to help the company clarify its product vision and business value, which strengthened my strategic communication skills. Working directly with real stakeholders on an active app gave me practical experience and boosted my confidence in collaborating effectively. I also learned the importance of respecting existing work and presenting concerns thoughtfully and with evidence, rather than expecting immediate changes based solely on my perspective.

Let’s make something great together!

Let’s make something great together!