Problem

Remembering gift ideas and keeping track of friends’ wish lists was messy and spread across notes, texts, and memory. People needed a simple, private way to save ideas, share lists, and stay connected around life’s occasions.

Goals

Business

• Launch a lightweight MVP to validate demand

• Create a shareable, relationship-centered gifting experience

Design

• Make capturing and sharing gift ideas effortless

• Build a clear information architecture that scales across lists, profiles, and connections

Approach

Research

• Surveyed users and evaluated gifting/wishlist apps.

• Identified needs around reminders, privacy, and easy sharing.

IA, Flows & Prototypes

• Created all app flows in Axure, including:

  • Account creation

  • Wish lists

  • Home (calendar + activity)

  • Connect with people

  • Profiles & privacy

  • Gift ideas browsing

• Provided art direction for the final visual layer.

Design Execution

• Designed the full MVP experience and collaborated with co-founders, dev lead, and engineer.

• Shipped a functional product with lists, profiles, followers, reminders, and activity feed.

Outcomes

• Delivered a working MVP used for feedback and validation

• Strong interest in reminders + friend wish lists

• Established scalable IA and interactions

• Project concluded when team capacity changed

Key Takeaways

• Side-project products require ruthless scoping and fast decision cycles

• Clear IA and interaction design are the backbone of early-stage products

• Social products succeed when they balance privacy, simplicity, and warmth

• Strong IC design leadership can move a product conception through functional MVP even with limited resources