Case Study
Project: Marketplace Redesign | 2023-24 | My Involvement: All stages
The Challenge
The marketplace was central to our product’s value proposition, connecting businesses with skilled independent workers. Over time, years of incremental updates and client-driven requests had turned it into a fragile ecosystem. Key workflows were stitched together through outdated logic and inconsistent interfaces, making even simple actions feel unpredictable.
​
For users, this instability created frustration and eroded confidence. Many developed their own workarounds to complete core tasks. Internally, teams were hesitant to modify the codebase because of its age and complexity. What had once been a reliable engine for matching talent and jobs had become a web of short-term fixes, outdated assumptions, and mismatched incentives.
Our mission was to rebuild the foundation. The goal was not just to refresh the interface but to restore user trust, reduce operational overhead, and create a scalable system ready for the next generation of matching intelligence and machine learning.
Approach
I began by mapping the entire ecosystem, interviewing stakeholders, observing how businesses and workers navigated friction points, and identifying where organizational assumptions had drifted away from actual user behavior.
​
Through research, I uncovered that the company’s training programs were unintentionally teaching users to adapt to broken workflows instead of addressing the root causes. This insight reframed our entire strategy. We realized the work was not about redesigning screens but about redesigning deeply-rooted patterns.
Execution
With alignment secured, I led design workshops to translate research findings into structured solutions. I used journey mapping and storyboarding to visualize where users were getting stuck and how those moments could be simplified.
​
Collaborating closely with engineers, I created wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes to validate flows before investing in higher fidelity design. I ran design reviews with internal teams to ensure that visual patterns and component behavior aligned with our emerging design system and accessibility standards.
​
As we progressed, in partnership with a product manager, I drove the refinement of the marketplace’s ranking algorithm. We conducted joint reviews to ensure that frontend logic and backend criteria worked together to surface the most relevant results for each user type.
Validation & Iteration
Rapid prototyping and usability testing guided every phase of the redesign. I tested early concepts with real users, collecting both qualitative insights and task success metrics. These findings informed the next round of iterations, helping the team move quickly while staying grounded in user outcomes.
Accessibility and keyboard navigation were evaluated in parallel with usability testing. I documented clear design specifications in Figma and maintained open communication with engineering during implementation to ensure a smooth handoff.
Progress was not always linear. Organizational changes meant new leaders and shifting priorities, requiring renewed buy-in at several stages. I learned to communicate the design rationale clearly, anchor discussions in data, and adapt without losing momentum.
Results
The redesigned marketplace delivered measurable improvements in usability and engagement. In our final testing round before the general audience rollout, user satisfaction soared, up 66% compared to the legacy experience.
​
Beyond the numbers, the redesign established a repeatable process for tackling other legacy systems. It aligned teams around shared principles for user experience, design consistency, and cross-functional collaboration. The new marketplace became a template for future modernization efforts across the platform.