Boosting trust and retention in a rewards-based survey app

Context

I updated the v1 design and immediately started exploring v2. This never made it to engineering because I left the company, but the work was done on the job, so I still treat it as real.

Personal agenda

After 2+ years as a UI/UX designer, I realized most of what I learned in bootcamp did not really apply at work. Reality is messy. People do not care about process.

But if I do not show a full UX process, how do I get my next job?

The Plan

Step 1

I asked a friend at Google (Interaction Designer) to show me his portfolio so I could copy what “good” looks like. He also worked on a survey rewards product, which made it even more useful.

Step 2

Make up the process: problem → research → ideation → design → iteration.

Five years ago, this kind of clean UX story could still pass screenings. Today, it probably reads as fake or junior designer.

Step 3

Add interactions. This is still table stakes. If you want to get into big tech, you need polished interaction demos.

Step 4

Practice the story.

Challenge

• Decrease drop-off rate
• Improve engagement
• Improve redemption experience

Process

Understand

I talked to the Director of UX and asked about the target audience. Off the top of his head:

Age: 40–50 Gender: Women Income: Lower-level

Research

There was no research budget. It was also during the pandemic, and I was not going to pay for tools myself. So I made it up.

Method:

• “User testing” with 6 target users
• Asked them to take surveys or redeem coins
• Observed interactions and collected feedback

Insights:

• Surveys ranged from 1 to 30 minutes
• Needed features to keep users coming back
• More ways to earn coins would help retention

Competitive analysis

I downloaded a couple of competitor apps. Eureka stood out the most and had that “wow” feeling. No documentation. Just vibes and memory.

Persona

Probably the easiest part to fake. I kept picturing middle-aged, low-income women juggling multiple survey apps while doing chores. Superhuman, honestly.

Ideation

I had a high-level ecosystem diagram in my head. Mostly to make it look like I was thinking about the business.

User flows

I focused on the key flows that could actually move the product, while still staying within what the company could realistically build.

The solutions

Improving survey clarity

Reality → cleaner UI + shorter onboarding

Encouraging participation

Reality → cleaner UI + some gamification

Expanding redemption

Reality → cleaner UI showing more reward options

But in reality, only magazine subscriptions were actually supported. And honestly, who wants magazines now?

Outcome

This case study worked. It got me second-round interviews at Google, Meta, and Amazon. I ended up joining CrowdStrike instead, higher salary, fully remote, and honestly easier since the recruiter kept reaching out.