Revolancer

2023

UX/UI

Startup

Web App

Context

Revolancer is a UK-based tech startup that served as a hub for freelancers to collaborate, showcase their work, and find clients, acquired in 2024 by the United Group. Throughout 2023, I conducted user interviews and analyzed feedback to define problems and solutions to help develop a new user-friendly platform and build marketing campaigns.

Role

Design Intern —

Product Marketing Manager

Methods & Tools

Figma, Survey, Digital Ethnography, User Interviews, Usability Testing

Practices

User Research, Product Thinking, Product Documentation

Revolancer

2023

Discovery

Defining the goal

Assess the appeal of a collaborative skill-swapping platform among freelancers and digital creatives by exploring their motivations, needs, and perspectives on existing freelancing platforms.

Understanding the people

Starting my initial research, I sent out a survey and observed online freelancing communities on Reddit and X to determine current pain points of freelancers, how they interact with each other online and what for. I reviewed the qualitative data to identify themes and assign codes, revealing main pain points of freelancers including —

User Pain Points

🚀 Difficulty getting traction

🛠️ Difficult to build specialization

🏆 Competitive market

⚖️ Work-life imbalance

👥 Difficulty building social proof

📉 Financial uncertainty and instability

I also conducted research interviews with new and seasoned freelancers as well as people interested in kickstarting their freelance business to understand how they get started with new platforms, how they typically use online freelance tools and how they expect them to perform.

"I'm looking for a straightforward process (not too many steps in the process), the freelancers are verified and deliver consistent quality, the price point, easy messaging system, customer filters, also something to ensure that businesses don't try to take advantage of the freelancers"

— Participant

Survey results

2023

Key Insight

Participants favor a shared space that facilitates connection, discovery, and collaboration on joint projects, suggesting that freelancers hold a positive attitude toward skill-swapping.

Solution

A platform that allows digital creatives to grow their skillset by creating work for other freelancers — real work for real people

I helped create a high-fidelity Figma prototype of account setup, posting a portfolio project, and applying to collaborate on a project for credits which we used to perform usability testing with freelancers. Freelancers are able to get feedback, gain connections, and reviews to build social proof for their portfolios and help them in their job search. There is also a job board to find contract work.

Prototype for Usability Testing

2023

Platform walkthrough

2023

"Revolancer is a great way to combine the benefits of LinkedIn with a sort of portfolio"

— Participant

Most Impactful Improvement

After usability testing, we discovered a need for introducing clear guidance and user education during onboarding, highlighting the difference between projects and jobs. While in development of contextual help through progressive disclosure, I created product documentation and a marketing campaign to support the bartering system. The documentation provided step-by-step guides and FAQs on our social media and in our newsletter, while the campaign educated users on the benefits through visuals and success stories.

After the platform's launch in Summer 2023, I continued to monitor online feedback and refine product requirements to align with user needs and increase user engagement. This user-centered and cyclical process helped lead us to reach 100,000+ users within the first 4 months of launching, then the company was acquired in February 2024.

After the platform's launch in Summer 2023, I continued to monitor online feedback and refine product requirements to align with user needs and increase user engagement. This user-centered and cyclical process helped lead us to reach 100,000+ users within the first 4 months of launching, then the company was acquired in February 2024.

After the platform's launch in Summer 2023, I continued to monitor online feedback and refine product requirements to align with user needs and increase user engagement. This user-centered and cyclical process helped lead us to reach 100,000+ users within the first 4 months of launching, then the company was acquired in February 2024.

Reflection

Know what I don't know

Working at a startup taught me to find out what I don't know and seek out the answers because execution matters, especially with limited time and resources. When given a task, it is important to make a plan and be confident going in to minimize risk.

Working at a startup taught me to find out what I don't know and seek out the answers because execution matters, especially with limited time and resources. When given a task, it is important to make a plan and be confident going in to minimize risk.

Working at a startup taught me to find out what I don't know and seek out the answers because execution matters, especially with limited time and resources. When given a task, it is important to make a plan and be confident going in to minimize risk.

Always consult your users

I previously had a small freelance design side hustle, so I myself was designing and thinking for people like me; therefore, it is easy to fall into the habit of designing for myself. However, every user has their own stories, needs, and experiences so you cannot generalize based on just one story or your own.

I previously had a small freelance design side hustle, so I myself was designing and thinking for people like me; therefore, it is easy to fall into the habit of designing for myself. However, every user has their own stories, needs, and experiences so you cannot generalize based on just one story or your own.

I previously had a small freelance design side hustle, so I myself was designing and thinking for people like me; therefore, it is easy to fall into the habit of designing for myself. However, every user has their own stories, needs, and experiences so you cannot generalize based on just one story or your own.