UX Design · Brand Re-design · Social Platform

Eloomin — redesigning social for good

A B2C social platform bringing positive engagement, real connections, and shared joy — I redesigned the onboarding experience, brand identity, and UI system end-to-end.

RoleJr. UX/UI Designer

Timeline6 months · 2023–2024

ToolsFigma · Notion · InDesign

PlatformiOS Mobile · Web

61%User drop-off identified at onboarding through behavioral analysis

+10%Engagement lift after redesigned onboarding shipped

0→1Full design system + KPI framework built from scratch

Overview

The social media app that's good for you

Eloomin, a fast-growing social platform centred around meaningful digital connections, brought me on as a UX Designer to rethink their onboarding experience. The goal was clear: help new users immediately see the value, build emotional investment from the very first tap, and reduce early drop-offs to drive long-term engagement.

I ran the full design process — from research and persona development through wireframes, brand guidelines, hi-fi prototyping, and developer handoff.

What I Owned Full-cycle UX — research · IA · wireframes · brand · Figma design system · hi-fi prototype · handoff

Team Solo UX Designer · 1 PM · Dev team

Duration 6 months

Tools Figma · Notion

Methods Interviews · Surveys · Competitive audit · Journey mapping · Usability testing

Responsibility	My Ownership
User research & interviews	I Led
Persona development	I Led
User journey mapping	I Led
Brand guidelines & visual identity	I Led
Figma design system	I Led
Hi-fi prototyping	I Led
Developer handoff	Partnered

The Problem

Users were leaving before experiencing the product

Through behavioral analysis and a heuristic evaluation of the existing onboarding, I identified that 61% of new users dropped off before completing onboarding — most at the "personalization" step where too much was asked at once.

61%

Drop-off at onboarding personalization step

Users were asked for a photo, bio, and topic selections simultaneously — cognitive overload caused abandonment before they ever experienced the feed.

Too much asked at once

The personalization step combined profile photo, bio, and interest tags on a single screen — each individually reasonable, together overwhelming.

No value shown before asking

Users were asked to invest effort before seeing what Eloomin actually offered. Zero value-before-ask in the existing flow.

Progress felt discouraging

The progress indicator showed users were barely through the onboarding when they hit the hardest step. No sense of near-completion.

No measurement framework

No success metrics existed for onboarding. Nobody could tell if anything was improving — so nothing ever did.

The Reframe That Drove the Whole Design

The emotional journey through Eloomin's onboarding started with confusion and frustration during intro screens and personalization, but gradually improved as users reached more engaging, value-driven content. The design goal: move that emotional peak earlier.

Research & Discovery

Understanding how users really felt

I ran user interviews, surveys, and a competitive audit to uncover pain points and behavioral patterns. Insights shaped a clear persona, problem statement, and user journey map grounded in real user behavior.

"I didn't know what I was getting into. It felt like filling out a job application before seeing the office."

Drop-off User · Interview Session 03

"The progress bar said '3 of 7' and I just... closed the app. That's too long."

Drop-off User · Interview Session 06

Research Methods Used

→ User interviews (10 sessions, 45 min each)

→ Surveys (43 responses)

→ Competitive audit (6 comparable social apps)

→ Heuristic evaluation (Nielsen's 10)

→ Session recording analysis

User Persona & Emotional Journey

Key Journey Insight

The lowest emotional point was at "Topic Selection" — exactly where the 61% drop-off occurred. The redesign needed to flip this: make the emotional high happen at that same moment instead.

Design Process

From user flow to brand to hi-fi prototype

I followed a structured design process through ideation, brand definition, and Figma prototyping — all documented and tested before handoff to engineering.

01 — User Flow Redesign

↑ New onboarding flow — reduced from 7 steps to 4. Value demonstration moved to Step 1. Topic selection isolated as its own focused step.

02 — Brand Guidelines in Figma

↑ Typography scale, color system (#4293BC primary blue), and spacing tokens — all built as Figma styles and shared with engineering as the source of truth.

03 — V1 Hi-fi Prototype Screens

↑ V1 high-fidelity prototype: splash screen, value proposition screens, and subscription/onboarding flow. Built entirely in Figma with auto-layout and component variants.

Design Decisions — Built vs. Considered

Built

Value-first splash screen before any data collection

Why: Research showed users needed to understand Eloomin's promise before investing effort. "No ads, no trolls, only good scrolls" shown upfront dramatically changed perception of the ask.

Built

Separated topic selection from profile setup

Why: The single most impactful change. One task per screen — topic selection isolated, profile photo made optional and moved post-onboarding.

Built

30-day free trial with transparent pricing

Why: "For the price of a coffee" framing — user interviews showed price anxiety was secondary to value uncertainty. Transparent trial removed both barriers.

Built

Complete Figma design system with tokens + variants

Why: No system existed before. Building it first meant every screen was consistent, every component reusable, and engineering had a single source of truth.

Considered / Dropped

Skip onboarding entirely with a "Jump in" button

Why not: Users who skipped similar flows in comparable apps had 3× lower day-7 retention. Onboarding drives activation — improve it, don't remove it.

Considered / Dropped

Gamified progress with badges and points

Why not: Interview feedback found it felt patronizing. Users wanted speed and clarity — not celebration. Simplicity won.

Outcome & Impact

What changed after we shipped

The redesigned onboarding shipped after 3 rounds of usability testing with 18 participants. Results measured against the KPI framework built before the project started.

61%

Drop-off identified and resolved at onboarding Step 3

+10%

Engagement lift across active user cohort post-launch

7→4

Onboarding steps reduced — photo and bio moved post-signup

What Changed	Before	After	Impact
Step 1 of onboarding	Generic welcome screen	Value proposition — "No ads, no trolls, only good scrolls"	First impression reframed
Topic selection	Combined with photo + bio	Isolated single step — one task only	Drop-off resolved
Profile photo	Required in onboarding	Optional, moved post-signup	Biggest barrier removed
Total steps	7 steps	4 steps	43% reduction
Design system	None existed	Full Figma system — tokens, components, variants	Engineering source of truth

Reflection

What this taught me

Build the system before the screens

Creating the Figma design system first — tokens, components, variants — meant every screen was automatically consistent. It saved weeks of revision and gave engineering a single source of truth from day one.

One task per screen is non-negotiable

The old Step 3 had 3 tasks. Each was reasonable alone — together they were overwhelming. Splitting them was the single most impactful design decision in the entire project.

Emotion is a design material

The emotional journey map showed exactly where users felt worst. Redesigning for the emotion — not just the task — was what moved the needle. The data told me where; the emotional map told me what to fix.

Closing Thought

The best onboarding doesn't feel like onboarding. It feels like the product already started.