Turning a Complex Advertising Model Into a Simple Mobile Experience
Industry
Advertising
Client
Back'd
Gaps
Spotlight
THE GAPS
Back'd set out to challenge the $300B advertising industry with a consumer-first rewards platform — where users control what they share, which brands they engage with, and how sponsorship shows up in their real lives. The business model was multi-sided — consumers, brands, and local businesses each needed distinct value from the same experience. The challenge was translating a complex, unproven model into a mobile product simple enough that users would immediately understand how advertising could work on their terms.
THE ENGAGEMENT
I served as project lead and product designer for four months — owning product strategy, UX, visual design, brand definition, and project management from concept through iOS launch.
WHAT I DELIVERED
A consumer-first rewards platform built to validate a new model fast.
I started by defining the product strategy around three core audiences — each with distinct value propositions and workflows. The multi-sided business model needed to feel simple and intuitive from the first interaction, not complex and confusing. From there, I led brand positioning, messaging architecture, user flow definition, and end-to-end app design. The experience prioritized user control and transparency — making the value exchange clear immediately so users could reach the "aha" moment quickly. I partnered closely with engineering to make pragmatic decisions around scope, technology, and speed. We built in React Native to validate the model quickly while reducing future platform expansion costs — all within an aggressive four-month timeline.
"The team delivered a crisp and clean user experience and demonstrated excellent project management along the way."
Matt Williams - Founder of Back'd
The Impact
Launched an iOS MVP in four months that validated a new consumer-first advertising model
Three distinct audiences — consumers, brands, and local businesses — balanced within one cohesive product experience
Frictionless onboarding designed to help users quickly understand a fundamentally different approach to advertising
Pragmatic technology and scope decisions that kept the team on timeline without sacrificing quality
