Kat McGowan Learning & product design

← UX & product

  • iOS
  • Product vision
  • Content design

From ambiguity to app store: defining the vision for a UGC experience

My role
Lead designer
Responsibilities
End-to-end UX & UI, iOS, user flows, product vision, content writing
Collaborators
Founder, customer team, SLT, engineering, creative directors, PMs, marketing
Timeline
3 months

Overview

I was asked to mock up a vague idea for a content creator app, with no real product vision or defined requirements. Needing to turn this around fast, I shaped the entire experience: from sign-up and profile creation to viewing and accepting briefs, and uploading content.

I also wrote the content, set the tone of voice, sourced illustrations, and helped establish a distinct identity from our core platform. The thinking and flows became the blueprint for what shipped, and brought two product teams together with a shared direction.

The first concept: three phone screens, the centre one a bright gradient reading “Join the largest creator network in the world”.
First concept, before the proof of concept was approved.

The problem

Stakeholders wanted to explore an app for content creators, but no one could say exactly what it should do, how it would work, or how it should differ from our existing platform. The only knowns were: it should let creators sign in and view or accept briefs.

The challenge: turn vague ambition into something concrete.

The goal

Streamline creator onboarding, reduce manual and email-based workflows, and take advantage of the early days of UGC by being one of the first to have a standalone app.

Discovery & direction

After the proof of concept was approved by SLT and we decided to build a standalone app, we needed the full app experience mocked up for the engineering teams to start on. All other work went on hold, and both product teams were combined to get the app out the door as soon as possible.

I met with the customer team already onboarding creators manually, and collated as much information as quickly as I could:

  • Spoke to brand and sales about how creators currently work with us
  • Looked at common pain points — unclear briefs, inconsistent profiles, manual handoff
  • Mapped a minimal end-to-end journey for creators, from onboarding to submission
  • Worked with engineers to map the registration flow, covering both pre-registered and new creators
A flow diagram mapping the registration and creator creation process, with branches for downloading the app, registering, and completing a profile.
Registration and creator creation flow.

Key flows I designed

  • Sign up & onboarding — a simple, mobile-first flow with profile creation and the info required for qualification
  • Brief review & acceptance — creators could browse briefs, view requirements, and accept or decline with one tap
  • Upload & delivery — a clear checklist to upload creative, view submission guidelines, and complete delivery
  • Post-submission & support — help content, visual feedback, and earnings built into the flow to reduce follow-up emails
Four onboarding screens with illustrations: you make the content, create a profile with examples of your work, we'll match you with top-tier brands, take the content and get paid.
Entry screens, with sourced illustrations to support the story.
Three screens from the profile creation flow: personal information, social links, and a confirmation screen.
Create profile flow.
Three screens: a brief match notification, a content submission checklist, and a help and support screen.
Briefs and help screens.

Voice, content & visual direction

Because this wasn’t branded Shuttlerock, I had to work quickly to pull together a visual direction for SLT reviews. I presented a couple of iterations as the flows developed. Once it was clearer we’d be building a standalone iOS app, I fleshed this out and also:

  • Wrote all in-app copy, aiming for a helpful, informal, human tone
  • Sourced illustrations and helped create a distinct visual language
  • Added suggestions for future enhancements — best practices, gamification, checklists
Mockups of a gamification flow: a creator guide, a quiz about brand vision and values, and a leaderboard.
Mockups of a gamification-type flow — creators learn more about their brands to move up the leaderboard.

Outcome

  • My initial concept and flows became the blueprint for what shipped
  • Two product teams aligned around a shared vision and collaborated on the build
  • The final app combined my early design work with future iterations from both teams
  • Creators now use this flow to sign up, accept briefs, and deliver content at scale

Reflection

This was one of those rare ‘blank canvas’ projects — no guardrails, just a problem space and a lot of ambiguity. It reinforced my strength in shaping early product vision and bringing structure to fuzzy ideas. It also gave me a deeper appreciation for voice and tone, especially when designing something community-facing and standalone.