My Role
UX Designer
I was a UX Designer on this project, but I wore many hats, as our team was small and dynamic.
Proposed and designed a new feed-like homepage that reshaped Grav.id's product vision and visual direction, helping the company evolve from a single-purpose tool into a broader community-driven platform.
Mapped journeys and restructured navigation, ensuring clear access to community, finance, and content tools.
Helped conduct user research to identify friction points for both individual and business users.
Designed wireframes and interactive Figma prototypes, evolving navigation and core flows for posting, analytics, and payments.
Contributed graphic design expertise, creating polished visuals and UI components that reinforced Grav.id’s refreshed brand.
Wrote key UX microcopy and interface text to make calls-to-action clear, improve onboarding, and give the platform a friendly, professional voice.
Collaborated with engineers and PMs to align product decisions with technical feasibility and user goals.
Conducted usability testing and iterations, improving task efficiency and validating feature adoption.
Intro Where did our journey begin?
What is Grav.id?
Designed as a community-driven “digital wallet”, Grav.id provides a secure platform where users can store personal information, documents, and funds.
Who was our main user group?
We heavily focused on businesses, giving them the ability to verify the authenticity of data and users with confidence, accessing large amounts of verified information in one place, streamlining operations.
What was our selling point?
Our app focused on leveraging self-sovereign identity (SSI), a system that allows users to personally control access to their sensitive data, eliminating reliance on centralized databases vulnerable to breaches.
We had the building blocks for something great, but something was missing. Users weren’t engaging, and businesses weren’t staying.
Why? And more importantly, how did we fix it?
This case study will show how we took Grav.id from…
this
Low User Engagement
Confusing Navigation
Less emphasis on building community
Focused primarily on Business Users
to this
Increased User Engagement
Simple & intuitive Navigation
Community centered platform
Focused on both Business & Individual Users
Impact
This project marked Grav.id’s evolution from a utility app into a community-centered platform. Through a complete redesign including both the mobile and desktop experience, we improved usability, introduced new engagement features, and helped drive rapid adoption and measurable business growth.
Individual User
Privacy-conscious
Wants secure control over personal data, finances, & online identity
Expects an intuitive & engaging experience
Business User
User acting for an organization
Wants a seamless way to verify user data, manage finances, & engage with audiences
Despite these clear use cases, engagement was low across both groups.
Identifying Our Key Audiences
Grav.id serves two primary user groups:
Analysis Understanding the Engagement Gap
What Was Holding Users Back?
We conducted user interviews across a pool of 50 users, both Individuals and Business users.
Here’s what we found...
Problem #1
72%
Expressed frustration over lack of social features
Users felt disconnected due to the absence of community-driven interactions.
Problem #2
68%
Reported difficulty navigating the app
The interface made it hard for users to find essential features, leading to frustration and drop-offs.
Problem #3
80%
Found lack of a desktop version to be a barrier
Businesses, which typically operate on desktops, found it difficult to manage their communities on a mobile-only platform.
Problem #4
61%
Felt the app lacked essential tools
Organizations lacked features to interact meaningfully with their audiences, reducing their investment in the platform.
Amongst Individual Users:
Amongst Business Users:
Market Research How can we do better?
Let’s look at some market research we did to understand what strategies competitor apps use to increase interactivity and engagement.
Market Research How can we do better?
Let’s look at some market research we did to understand what strategies competitor apps use to increase interactivity and engagement.
What features did Individual Users need?
Why did Individual users struggle to engage with the app?
no communities/ways to interact with other members
no direct messaging feature
no customization features besides photo and name
Old version home page
posts were siloed within individual pages, making the app feel transactional rather than connected
homepage is more dashboard style than feed style
(no social components)
Connecting Problems to Solutions
User Needs
Needed more Social Components
Centralized space for updates/interactions
Ability to communicate with other users/businesses
Customization Options
New version home page
Gave user the ability to join and participate in Communities
Added a home page feed for interactive posts, comments, and likes.
Integrated messaging for one-on-one and group conversations.
Enabled profile customization for users to showcase their identity.
Our Solutions
My Contribution: I proposed and redesigned the homepage to feature a community feed, surfacing posts across all of a user’s groups. This simple shift made the platform feel alive and networked, aligning with our vision of expanding beyond a digital wallet to a social-business hub.
Problem #2 (Individual Users) - Difficulty Navigating
Individual users struggled with the app’s navigation, making it difficult to find key features.
Collected Data How can we fix navigation?
To improve navigation, we conducted user interviews, usability testing, and analyzed how top competitor apps structure their navigation.
Collected Data How can we fix navigation?
To improve navigation, we conducted user interviews, usability testing, and analyzed how top competitor apps structure their navigation.
What we did to help Individual users navigate Grav.id with ease.
User Needs
Misleading labels and hidden actions led to frustration
Users took longer than expected to find core features
Our Solutions
Created new design system and redesigned the app's navigation bar for better clarity and consistency.
Created a search function so that users can find anything, anywhere on the app
Added an AI assistant (Brill-e) to help users quickly find what they need.
Design System
In order to solve usability issues and refine interface aesthetics, we created a new design system, centering content and accessibility.
A snippet of the new design system
Key Learnings
Don't overload the user with too many variations in content style.
Keep user actions (posting, sharing, interacting) simple & easily accessible.
Use multiple button styles and keep CTAs and actions clearly delineated.
Our Nav Bar Transformation
Version 1
Cluttered and confusing nav bar options
Version 2
Less cluttered, but no search or way to find specific things in app
Version 3
Intuitive navigation and structure for good user flow with all necessary features included
My Contribution: I was heavily involved in redesigning Grav.id's nav bar. We needed an icon that represented both the "search" functionality and the Brill-e "AI chatbot" functionality, so I designed one for the app that is now used in the final version (shown below).
Deep Dive into our AI Search Feature
We decided to create an AI-powered search chatbot (named Brill-e) after finding that users had trouble navigating to key features in our app.
Brill-e can help users:
find key features
manage finances
connect with communities
.. And sooooo much more
Our Brill-e chatbot instantly streamlines the user experience with natural language processing, delivering relevant results and guiding users seamlessly and quickly
Brill-e in action
My Contribution: I played a key role in developing our AI search feature, mapping user flows and designing the majority of Brill-e search components and interactions.
So, did we succeed in helping Individual Users?
Problem #1
Users felt disconnected / no sense of community
Problem #2
Users found it difficult to find key features / poor navigation
Growth from pain points:
85% of users reported ease of navigation while using app
73% of users reported a positive experience while using social features of the app
Impact:
Users now spend more time engaging with their communities.
Retention rates improved as users found more reasons to return.
Users reported a smoother experience and easier access to key features.
Old version of Business Page
no ability to create or maintain communities on app
no tools to interact with customers and app community members
Limited business and financial features
Problem #3 - Lack of Desktop Version
Nonprofits and businesses, which typically operate on desktops, found it difficult to manage their communities on a mobile-only platform.
Problem #4 - Lack of Essential Tools
Organizations lacked features to interact meaningfully with their audiences and manage their businesses, reducing their investment in the platform.
Now let’s talk Business Users
Connecting Problems to Solutions
What we did to help business users engage with their audiences?
Added new interactive features for businesses to engage with their communities
New version of Business Page
We included new features like:
Posts
Announcements
Messaging
Fundraisers
Business page analytics
A desktop version of the app
Added New Features for Businesses to Control their Finances through Grav.id
Including:
Safe, secure, and direct transactions between Businesses and community members
Seamless funds management and revenue tracking
New data monetization tools
Incentives and integrations
Desktop financial transaction walkthrough
These changes strengthen business retention by making Grav.id’s ecosystem an integral, valuable part of their operations.
This is a previous version of the mobile wallet/finances page before our team made some final changes.
Previous Mobile "Finances" Page
My Contribution: I designed the Wallet/Finances page of Grav.id (interactions, structure, visual design, etc. ), which my team adopted as the basis for the app’s overall style and structure.
Did we succeed in helping Business Users?
Problem #3
Most businesses prefer a Desktop version of the app
Problem #4
Businesses lacked features to interact with audiences and manage finances
Growth from pain points:
95% of businesses are satisfied with the new desktop version of the app.
Over 4 in 5 businesses saw higher audience engagement after switching to the new version
.
Over 80% of businesses are spending more time on the Grav.id platform since the update.
Impact:
Businesses now spend more time engaging with their communities.
Users reported a smoother experience and easier access to key features.
Business adoption increased, with three new businesses and Autism Today (Grav.id's largest client) joining the platform.
The Glow-Up
More Clicks, More Connections
Were we successful?
Increased User Retention – Users now find more value in community interactions and personalized experiences.
Higher Business Adoption – More nonprofits and businesses joined due to enhanced usability and features.
Stronger Community Engagement – A more interactive and visually engaging platform fostered a greater sense of belonging.
12x
Increased adoption with 12x B2B customers, demonstrating growing demand for our platform.
105%
Sustained momentum, achieving a 105% month-over-month (MoM) growth in user acquisition.
30%
Stronger engagement, with a 30%+ increase in daily active users (DAU/WAU ratio).
35%
Task completion time improved by 35%, making it easier for users to access key features.
65%
Higher customer retention, driving a 65% increase in customer lifetime value (CLTV) due to improved usability and engagement.
With these changes, Grav.id evolved from a promising concept into a thriving ecosystem where users and businesses alike find purpose, security, and connection.
Reflection What I learned
This case study challenged us to tackled Grav.id’s biggest engagement challenges head-on.
User needs come first
Community and personalization are key to retention. People stay where they feel connected.
Collaboration is Key
Working with a real-world team taught me how to balance perspectives, adapt, & communicate design choices.
Tailored solutions
A desktop version and expanded tools helped meet businesses’ unique needs.
Iteration is everything
Research, testing, and feedback refined our approach and strengthened our design decisions.
By focusing on real user needs, we transformed a disconnected user experience into a platform that fosters connection, autonomy, and lasting engagement.
First we tackled Individual Users
"I like the idea of this app, but it feels isolating. There’s no real way to connect with others or be part of a community."
- Grav.id User
The first issue we ran into was that individual users reported feeling disconnected and unmotivated to engage due to the lack of interactive components and community. Retention rates were low, and feedback consistently highlighted the need for a more engaging experience.
Problem #1 (Individual Users) - Lack of Social Features
Design Process
How We Boosted Engagement
Team
4 UX Designers, 2 Developers
Tools
Figma
Time Span
10 months
My Role
UX Designer
I was a UX Designer on this project, but I wore many hats, as our team was small and dynamic.
Proposed and designed a new feed-like homepage that reshaped Grav.id's product vision and visual direction, helping the company evolve from a single-purpose tool into a broader community-driven platform.
Mapped journeys and restructured navigation, ensuring clear access to community, finance, and content tools.
Helped conduct user research to identify friction points for both individual and business users.
Designed wireframes and interactive Figma prototypes, evolving navigation and core flows for posting, analytics, and payments.
Contributed graphic design expertise, creating polished visuals and UI components that reinforced Grav.id’s refreshed brand.
Wrote key UX microcopy and interface text to make calls-to-action clear, improve onboarding, and give the platform a friendly, professional voice.
Collaborated with engineers and PMs to align product decisions with technical feasibility and user goals.
Conducted usability testing and iterations, improving task efficiency and validating feature adoption.
Intro Where did our journey begin?
What is Grav.id?
Designed as a community-driven “digital wallet”, Grav.id provides a secure platform where users can store personal information, documents, and funds.
Who was our main user group?
We heavily focused on businesses, giving them the ability to verify the authenticity of data and users with confidence, accessing large amounts of verified information in one place, streamlining operations.
What was our selling point?
Our app focused on leveraging self-sovereign identity (SSI), a system that allows users to personally control access to their sensitive data, eliminating reliance on centralized databases vulnerable to breaches.
We had the building blocks for something great, but something was missing. Users weren’t engaging, and businesses weren’t staying.
Why? And more importantly, how did we fix it?
This case study will show how we took Grav.id from…
Low User Engagement
Confusing Navigation
Less emphasis on building community
Focused primarily on Business Users
this
to this
Increased User Engagement
Simple & intuitive Navigation
Community centered platform
Focused on both Business & Individual Users
Impact
This project marked Grav.id’s evolution from a utility app into a community-centered platform. Through a complete redesign including both the mobile and desktop experience, we improved usability, introduced new engagement features, and helped drive rapid adoption and measurable business growth.
Analysis Understanding the Engagement Gap
Identifying Our Key Audiences
Grav.id serves two primary user groups:
Individual User
Privacy-conscious
Wants secure control over personal data, finances, & online identity
Expects an intuitive & engaging experience
Business User
User acting for an organization
Wants a seamless way to verify user data, manage finances, & engage with audiences
Despite these clear use cases, engagement was low across both groups.
What Was Holding Users Back?
We conducted user interviews across a pool of 50 users, both Individuals and Business users.
Here’s what we found...
Amongst Individual Users:
Amongst Business Users:
Users felt disconnected due to the absence of community-driven interactions.
72%
Expressed frustration over lack of social features
Problem #1
The interface made it hard for users to find essential features, leading to frustration and drop-offs.
68%
Reported difficulty navigating the app
Problem #2
Businesses, which typically operate on desktops, found it difficult to manage their communities on a mobile-only platform.
80%
Found lack of a desktop version to be a barrier
Problem #3
Organizations lacked features to interact meaningfully with their audiences, reducing their investment in the platform.
61%
Felt the app lacked essential tools
Problem #4
First we tackled Individual Users
The first issue we ran into was that individual users reported feeling disconnected and unmotivated to engage due to the lack of interactive components and community. Retention rates were low, and feedback consistently highlighted the need for a more engaging experience.
Problem #1 (Individual Users) - Lack of Social Features
"I like the idea of this app, but it feels isolating. There’s no real way to connect with others or be part of a community."
- Grav.id User
Design Process How We Boosted Engagement
Market Research How can we do better?
Let’s look at some market research we did to understand what strategies competitor apps use to increase interactivity and engagement.
What features did Individual Users need?
Why did Individual users struggle to engage with the app?
no communities/ways to interact with other members
homepage is more dashboard style than feed style
(no social components)
no direct messaging feature
no customization features besides photo and name
Old version home page
posts were siloed within individual pages, making the app feel transactional rather than connected
Connecting Problems to Solutions
User Needs
Needed more Social Components
Centralized space for updates/interactions
Ability to communicate with other users/businesses
Customization Options
New version home page
Gave user the ability to join and participate in Communities
Added a home page feed for interactive posts, comments, and likes.
Integrated messaging for one-on-one and group conversations.
Enabled profile customization for users to showcase their identity.
Our Solutions
My Contribution: I proposed and redesigned the homepage to feature a community feed, surfacing posts across all of a user’s groups. This simple shift made the platform feel alive and networked, aligning with our vision of expanding beyond a digital wallet to a social-business hub.
Problem #2 (Individual Users) - Difficulty Navigating
Individual users struggled with the app’s navigation, making it difficult to find key features.
Collected Data How can we fix navigation?
To improve navigation, we conducted user interviews, usability testing, and analyzed how top competitor apps structure their navigation.
What we did to help Individual users navigate Grav.id with ease.
User Needs
Misleading labels and hidden actions led to frustration
Users took longer than expected to find core features
Our Solutions
Created new design system and redesigned the app's navigation bar for better clarity and consistency.
Created a search function so that users can find anything, anywhere on the app
Added an AI assistant (Brill-e) to help users quickly find what they need.
Design System
In order to solve usability issues and refine interface aesthetics, we created a new design system, centering content and accessibility.
A snippet of the new design system
Key Learnings
Don't overload the user with too many variations in content style.
Keep user actions (posting, sharing, interacting) simple & easily accessible.
Use multiple button styles and keep CTAs and actions clearly delineated.
Our Nav Bar Transformation
Version 1
Cluttered and confusing nav bar options
Version 2
Less cluttered, but no search or way to find specific things in app
Version 3
Intuitive navigation and structure for good user flow with all necessary features included
My Contribution: I was heavily involved in redesigning Grav.id's nav bar. We needed an icon that represented both the "search" functionality and the Brill-e "AI chatbot" functionality, so I designed one for the app that is now used in the final version (shown to the right).
Deep Dive into our AI Search Feature
We decided to create an AI-powered search chatbot (named Brill-e) after finding that users had trouble navigating to key features in our app.
Brill-e can help users:
find key features
manage finances
connect with communities
.. And sooooo much more
Our Brill-e chatbot instantly streamlines the user experience with natural language processing, delivering relevant results and guiding users seamlessly and quickly
Brill-e in action
My Contribution: I played a key role in developing our AI search feature, mapping user flows and designing the majority of Brill-e search components and interactions.
So, did we succeed in helping Individual Users?
Problem #1
Users felt disconnected / no sense of community
Problem #2
Users found it difficult to find key features / poor navigation
Growth after implementation:
85% of users interviewed reported ease of navigation while using app
73% of users interviewed reported a positive experience while using social features of the app
Impact:
Users now spend more time engaging with their communities.
Retention rates improved as users found more reasons to return.
Users reported a smoother experience and easier access to key features.
Now let’s talk Business Users
Problem #3 - Lack of Desktop Version
Nonprofits and businesses, which typically operate on desktops, found it difficult to manage their communities on a mobile-only platform.
Problem #4 - Lack of Essential Tools
Organizations lacked features to interact meaningfully with their audiences and manage their businesses, reducing their investment in the platform.
no ability to create or maintain communities on app
no tools to interact with customers and app community members
Limited business and financial features
Old version of Business Page
Connecting Problems to Solutions
What did we do to help business users engage with their audiences?
Added new interactive features for businesses to engage with their communities
New version of Business Page
We included new features like:
Posts
Announcements
Messaging
Fundraisers
Business page analytics
A desktop version of the app
Added New Features for Businesses to Control their Finances through Grav.id
Including:
Safe, secure, and direct transactions between Businesses and community members
Seamless funds management and revenue tracking
New data monetization tools
Incentives and integrations
Desktop financial transaction walkthrough
These changes strengthen business retention by making Grav.id’s ecosystem an integral, valuable part of their operations.
This is a previous version of the mobile wallet/finances page before our team made some final changes.
Previous Mobile "Finances" Page
My Contribution: I designed the Wallet/Finances page of Grav.id (interactions, structure, visual design, etc. ), which my team adopted as the basis for the app’s overall style and structure.
Did we succeed in helping Business Users?
Problem #3 Recap
Most businesses prefer a Desktop version of the app
Problem #4 Recap
Businesses lacked features to interact with audiences and manage finances
Growth after implementation:
95% of businesses are satisfied with the new desktop version of the app.
Over 4 in 5 businesses saw higher audience engagement after switching to the new version.
Over 80% of businesses are spending more time on the Grav.id platform since the update.
Impact:
Businesses now spend more time engaging with their communities.
Users reported a smoother experience and easier access to key features.
Business adoption increased, with three new businesses and Autism Today (Grav.id's largest client) joining the platform.
The Glow-Up More Clicks, More Connections
Were we successful?
Increased User Retention – Users now find more value in community interactions and personalized experiences.
Higher Business Adoption – More nonprofits and businesses joined due to enhanced usability and features.
Stronger Community Engagement – A more interactive and visually engaging platform fostered a greater sense of belonging.
12x
Increased adoption with 12x B2B customers, demonstrating growing demand for our platform.
105%
Sustained momentum, achieving a 105% month-over-month (MoM) growth in user acquisition.
30%
Stronger engagement, with a 30%+ increase in daily active users (DAU/WAU ratio).
35%
Task completion time improved by 35%, making it easier for users to access key features.
65%
Higher customer retention, driving a 65% increase in customer lifetime value (CLTV) due to improved usability and engagement.
With these changes, Grav.id evolved from a promising concept into a thriving ecosystem where users and businesses alike find purpose, security, and connection!
Reflection What I learned
This case study challenged us to tackled Grav.id’s biggest engagement challenges head-on.
User needs come first
Community and personalization are key to retention. People stay where they feel connected.
Collaboration is Key
Working with a real-world team taught me how to balance perspectives, adapt, & communicate design choices.
Tailored solutions
A desktop version and expanded tools helped meet businesses’ unique needs.
Iteration is everything
Research, testing, and feedback refined our approach and strengthened our design decisions.
By focusing on real user needs, we transformed a disconnected user experience into a platform that fosters connection, autonomy, and lasting engagement.
Team
4 UX Designers, 2 Developers
Tools
Figma
Time Span
10 months
Disclaimer: This case study covers work that may be updated as the company continues to refine designs.
Check out our published work HERE
Disclaimer: This case study covers work that may be updated as the company continues to refine designs.
Check out our published work HERE