PRODUCT DESIGN, USER EXPERIENCE

Kickstarter,
System Integrity

While my time at Kickstarter was cut short by COVID-19, I was able to make a big impact in a short time. I created multiple design experiments aimed at restoring user trust and increasing creator accountability.

ROLE
Product designer (UX and UI)
TEAM
1 product manager,
1 team manager
8 developers
DELIVERABLES
Risky experiments
Now/Next status
Timeline strategy and early explorations,
Creator Bio box
Creator accolades
Backer report expiry

The challenge

Kickstarter is different from traditional e-commerce sites because its existence hinges on the health of the relationship between backers and creators. Trust is necessary for the ecosystem to work.  

Our team wanted to understand the following:

How do we ensure that backers understand that backing a project is a promise and not a guarantee?

How do we ensure that creators follow through on that promise? How do we hold them accountable and get the best result for the backer?

Solution & impact

I immediately got to work on projects that tacked tough subjects like:

1. Setting backer expectations

Risky Experiments, Now/Next and Timeline

2. Creator trustworthiness  
Creator Bio box, creator accolades

3. Protecting personally identifying information (PII)
Backer report expiry


Due to my quick pace of work, my team was able to conduct 5 experiments and site updates that helped us gauge impact on user sentiment. Though I am no longer at Kickstarter, this work continues to inform future decisions at the company.