Category:
Mobile Design
Client:
Haven
My Role
UX & Interaction Design
Duration
2 Months From Sept'25 to Oct'25
Methods
Rapid Prototyping, High-Fidelity Prototyping, Usability Testing, User Interviews
About Haven
Haven is a peer-to-peer community platform designed to make it easier for people to give and receive help within their local circles. Think of it as a "karma economy" where:
Earn points by giving.
More points = higher karma.
Answer when called. Decline to help your haven more than 3x in a row, and risk suspension from the commune.
Every successful exchange creates exponential positivity. Be kind, do your part, and watch your world expand.
Why Redesign Onboarding?
The Business Problem:
Haven was struggling to convert interested users into active community members. Despite strong word-of-mouth interest, the onboarding process was creating friction at multiple touchpoints.
Increase onboarding completion rate from 45% to 75%
Reduce time-to-first-action after signup
Enable organic growth through waitlist exploration
Build trust before requesting personal information
Create immediate value perception
User Goals:
Understand what Haven is and why it matters
Feel confident sharing personal information
Join communities that align with their interests
Experience immediate value, not just forms
Explore without committing (for non-invited users)
Problems Identified
I conducted interviews with 10 users and identified six critical friction points:
Too Many Steps Slowed Conversion
Multiple verifications and approvals (phone, email, admin review, profile setup) made the process feel long and effortful
Users often dropped off before completing onboarding
Unclear Post-Join Experience Affected Retention
Once approved, users struggled to understand the app purpose and functionality
This revealed a lack of contextual guidance
Limited Entry Options Restricted Growth
Non-invited users had no entry point
Without an invite code, they couldn’t explore what Haven offered, limiting organic discovery and growth
Incomplete Profiles Reduced Trust Within Havens
Incomplete or inactive profiles led to a lack of trust and community warmth.
Users needed a more human, emotionally engaging setup process
Weak Perceived Value Lowered Data Confidence
Users questioned why they should share personal details without first seeing Haven’s value.
The flow needed to establish trust and purpose before data input
No Immediate Reward Lowered Activation
There was no immediate, meaningful action after sign-up
Users needed a small but rewarding step that connects onboarding to purpose and engagement
Iterations and Feedback (Important One's)
Iterations 01: Screen Refinements
Early versions of Haven’s onboarding focused on functional clarity but missed emotional depth and guidance. Through several internal reviews, I explored how each screen could better reflect Haven’s warmth while reducing hesitation for new users.
The goal was to simplify language, show the intent behind each action, and adjust the tone to feel more human and community focused. By separating what worked well such as clear hierarchy and visual simplicity from what created friction such as missing emotional context or redundant steps, I defined a stronger foundation for a guided and trustworthy onboarding experience.
Iterations 02: Flow Refinements
Problem
Too many steps before any value: Users verified phone and email and completed a profile before seeing what Haven offers.
Late branching: Users learned whether they could join only after investing effort.
Dead end for no-code users: People without an invite had no meaningful way to explore or engage.
Extra steps for invited users: They still had to “find” their Haven and then enter a code.
Motivation gap: Points came after a long sequence and did not connect to an immediate action.
Problem
Verification still feels long with both phone and email.
Admin approval remains a wait that needs clearer progress and engagement.
Profile still risks feeling form-like without stronger emotional framing.
With only two live Havens in MVP, public discovery can feel empty.
Some redundancy remains across paths and adds complexity for maintenance.
Proposed Solution
Welcome Animation and Phone Verification
Set tone first with a soft welcome, then verify phone and email.
One action per screen, clear helper text, visible progress.
Outcome: fewer OTP retries and faster completion.
Profile Completion and About App
Show “what Haven is” before asking for details to add purpose.
Conversational profile: name and photo required, interests preselected so users can deselect.
Outcome: higher profile completion with less hesitation.
Users with Access Code and No Access Code
Search your Haven. If public, continue. If private, submit request.
Warm review screen with member photos and a prompt to enable notifications.
Outcome: invited users join quickly while no-code users have a guided path.
Rewards
Small win at completion with Karmic Rewards.
Homepage IA shows Give and Get with a single plus action.
Outcome: clearer first actions and stronger motivation to return.
Final Design Prototype Link
UX Consideration within Constraints
Manual approval reality
Added “Reviewing your request” with human photos, progress copy, and a notifications prompt to keep users engaged during the wait.
Only two Havens live at MVP
Split flows early into public vs private. Let public users complete onboarding and explore right away to avoid an empty-feel block.
Push relevance
Interests power notifications. Default-on selection prevents misses while still giving control to refine.
Form fatigue risk
Moved “About the app” before profile to explain why details matter. Kept name and photo required, preselected interests so users can quickly deselect.
Reflection & Learnings
Designing Haven's onboarding reaffirmed that trust and clarity matter more than speed in community-based products. A seamless flow means little if users don't emotionally connect to the purpose.
1
Context First, Action Second
What I Learned: Building emotional alignment BEFORE data collection is crucial for community products. The welcome animation wasn't "nice to have" — it was the foundation of trust.
What I'd Do Differently: Test different animation styles earlier. We spent time on copy when illustration style might have mattered more.
2
Test Early, Test Often
What I Learned: Points only mattered when contextualized (e.g., "points = higher trust = faster help"). Abstract gamification fails; connected gamification succeeds.
What I'd Do Differently: Prototype 3 different incentive models (points, badges, social proof) and test with users before committing to one.
3
Design for Belonging
What I Learned: Onboarding isn't a hurdle to overcome; it's the first act of participation. Framing each step as "joining a community" vs "completing a task" changed user perception entirely.
What I'd Do Differently: Interview more community organizers (offline) to understand belonging psychology before designing.
What's Next?
Designing Haven's onboarding reaffirmed that trust and clarity matter more than speed in community-based products. A seamless flow means little if users don't emotionally connect to the purpose.