TechGig App: Merging Modern Design with Core Usability
Unlocking Platform Value: Eliminating a Broken Onboarding Flow and Centralizing Hidden Core Features.
project overview
The goal of this project was to redesign the TechGig app in alignment with the platform’s broader visual and functional revamp. This included updating the app’s interface to reflect a fresh, modern aesthetic.
My Role
As the sole designer on this project, I was responsible for leading the visual redesign of the TechGig app. I also addressed few UX issues to enhance usability while maintaining the existing user flow to preserve familiarity for current users.
tool
Figma
Timeline
2 Months
The Starting Line: An App Full of Secrets
The TechGig app had a secret: it held a wealth of valuable content, from prize challenges and hackathons to skill certifications, but all of it was buried beneath an outdated interface.
Our mission was clear: unlock that value by giving the app a modern aesthetic and ensuring users could actually find the platform’s best features.
The Problem We Faced:
Before we could begin the redesign, we conducted a rigorous Heuristic Evaluation and a Usability Audit.
This research phase confirmed our fears: the app wasn't just visually dated; it was actively frustrating its users, particularly the new ones.
The Critical Pain Points
Our audit revealed specific areas where users were hitting major friction points, leading to anticipated high abandonment.
1.
The Broken Welcome Mat: High-Friction Setup and Abandonment
The Issue: The previous app required users to register before viewing any content or features. A sign-in wall is a common source of friction and a major reason why users abandon apps, especially for platforms where the value proposition isn't immediately clear. lock screen.
The Outcome: The mandatory barrier significantly inflated user abandonment rates right at the first step.
The Issue: The sign-up and password reset processes were non-native, forcing new users out of the app and into a web browser to activate their accounts. Returning to the app often resulted in a confusing lock screen.
Sign up
password reset
The Outcome: This broken "app-to-browser-to-app" dance created user limbo, leading to significant drop-off before a new user even reached the home screen.
The Issue: After choosing a skill during the personalization setup, the search input field did not automatically clear.
The Outcome: Users had to manually erase the previous selection, actively interrupting their flow and slowing down the crucial process of building a tailored content profile.
2.
The Hidden Value Problem: Low Feature Engagement
Once users got past the sign-up, they often couldn't find the very things TechGig was famous for.
The Issue: The legacy Homepage prioritized low-engagement news articles, while core features (Hackathons, Webinars, Skill Tests) were tucked away in a secondary, easily overlooked side drawer.
The Outcome: We were minimizing the visibility of our most valuable services, resulting in artificially low Feature Adoption Rates and a failure to drive meaningful user commitment.
3.
Low Profile Completion
A significant number of registered users failed to complete their profiles, limiting the platform's ability to offer accurate content personalization and reducing the overall quality of user data.
4.
Everyday UI Friction
Small, flawed interactions slowed down the experienced user and contributed to a generalized sense of low quality. Generally, the interface lacked modern conventions, leading to minor but persistent usability errors and missing opportunities to enhance engagement through clear calls-to-action (CTAs) and effective visual hierarchy across feature cards.
problem statement
The existing TechGig mobile application suffered from a severe misalignment between its visual identity and the high value of its offerings. This disconnect led to critical UX failures.
The Strategy: Turning the App into a Feature Hub
Our strategy was two-fold: eliminate all critical flow barriers and transform the app’s entry points into a centralized feature hub that immediately showcases TechGig's depth.
Chapter 1
Fixing the Front Door (Onboarding)
We knew if we couldn't get users in, nothing else mattered.
Eliminating the Wall
We removed the mandatory sign-in wall. Users can now view the application and explore all features as a guest before committing to registration, allowing them to understand the platform's value proposition first.
Seamless Verification
We overhauled the sign-up and password reset processes to be 100% native. Activation now occurs seamlessly within the app, eliminating the frustrating browser redirects and closing the user drop-off loophole.
Intuitive Personalization
Users are shown popular and commonly selected skills upfront, making it easier to get started. After a skill is selected, the input field automatically clears, allowing users to immediately search for the next skill without any manual effort.
Additionally, the suggestions update dynamically, showing more related skills based on the user's selections, helping them build a stronger and more relevant skill profile.
Chapter 2
The Hub Transformation (Homepage & Discovery)
Feature Prioritization:
The homepage was rebuilt to be a modular hub. Major platform services (Hackathons, Webinars, Skill Tests) are now featured prominently, each presented in dynamic preview cards with a clear "View All" path. This simple change instantly elevated the perceived value of the app and gave users a comprehensive view of the platform’s offerings without searching.
Driving Profile Completion with Psychology:
To address historically low profile completion rates, we introduced a constant "TG Pro" bar fixed at the top of the app. This element constantly displays the percentage of profile completeness. This element constantly displays the percentage of profile completeness, creating a visible gap to encourage user action.
Psychological Principle:
This mechanism leverages the Zeigarnik Effect (the psychological tendency to remember and want to finish incomplete tasks) to nudge users toward full profile creation.
Quick Wins: Eliminating Daily Frustration
We addressed numerous micro-interactions that were causing friction across the app, ensuring a consistently smooth experience.
News Feed
Before (The Pain)
Full-screen, swipe-based view prevented quick scanning of headlines.
Switched to a scrollable, multi-headline layout, adopting a fast, publication-style format for efficient browsing.It feels more like a tech publication now, and less like a slideshow.
Skill Test
Before (The Pain)
Tiny leaderboard icon placement caused frequent misclicks.
Replaced with a prominent button and clearly labeled text, significantly reducing accidental taps and improving navigation.
Beyond fixing the initial usability hiccup, the Skill Test section got a sleek visual upgrade. It’s now more modern, cleaner, and easier to navigate
Webinar
Before (The Pain)
No clear CTA; users unsure of next steps
Date & time info small and not prominent.
Speaker's name shown, but "multiple speakers" info missing inside webinars where there are more than one speaker.
Number shown beside a profile icon, but not contextualized (views? booked?).
Cards are tightly packed, harder to scan quickly.
Strong CTA: “BOOK YOUR SEAT”
Date and time highlighted in colored tags for easy scanning.
Speaker’s profile highlighted, and "+4 More Speakers" shown for richer context.
Participation clearly labeled as "x Participated" which builds trust and urgency.
Cards have better visual breathing room.
Before (The Pain)
Giant full-screen profile photo which eats a lot of space unnecessarily.
Speaker name and designation small, almost lost against the image.
The "+" icon next to the title does not clearly communicate whether it is intended to add the item to a playlist, like the webinar, or bookmark it.
Compact header with a focus on event title.
Speaker list shown horizontally. (main speaker + "+4 More Speakers" clearly visible)
The "+" icon is replaced with a bookmark icon, making it easier for users to understand its purpose. Additionally, the icon is now placed next to the call-to-action
The core detail pages for webinars were also visually refined for a cleaner, modern look.
Challenges
Before (The Pain)
Plain text blocks lacking visual urgency or clear action.
Implemented dynamic, image-rich cards featuring a prominent "Time Left" countdown and a strong "See Details" CTA to drive immediate engagement.
The Takeaway: Unlocking Potential
This wasn't just about giving the app a "fresh coat of paint." It was about unlocking TechGig's full potential by systematically removing the barriers that stood between the user and the platform’s best content.
The comprehensive redesign successfully achieved the dual objectives of modernizing the application's visual language and eliminating critical friction points. The result is a significantly more intuitive, accessible, and professional experience that is better aligned with the brand and ready to support higher user engagement across all key platform services.