Role
Design Manager
Client
DubsTech Protothon 2024
Timeline
May - August 2025
Team
1 Product Manager 1 Design Manager 5 Designers
Skills
User Research and Synthesis Data Visualization Information Archetecture Team Leadership Stakeholder Management Usability Testing
Tools
Figma FigJam Usertesting.com Slack Notion Zoom
Designing for Real Connection: Analytics for Bloom Social
Challenge
Social Media That Actually Brings People Together 🌱
As Design Manager for a 6-person team at Develop for Good, I partnered with nenos Inc. to design features for Bloom Social, a nonprofit social media platform focused on authentic local connections without ads or algorithms.
While leading the team designing the Discovery feature, I personally designed the Analytics Dashboard, User Profile, and Settings pages. My biggest challenge? Creating analytics that measure genuine community impact, not vanity metrics.
Discovery
The Question That Changed Everything 🔍
Our research with 105 survey respondents revealed that users make event decisions based on cost, distance, reviews, and personal interest. But during usability testing, hosts couldn't understand if their events were actually successful. They saw numbers but couldn't connect them to real-world impact.
"Is my event actually successful?" became the question that drove my design decisions.
Design Solution
From Confusion to Clarity: The Conversion Funnel ✨
I transformed confusing metrics into a clear conversion story:
The Views → Bookmarks → Going Funnel
Instead of displaying all metrics equally, I created a visual funnel showing how interest converts to attendance. This helped hosts understand their true impact on community participation.
User Testing v1
All metrics equal weight
❌ "Is my event successful?"
Final Design
Conversion-driven hierarchy
✅ "Now I understand "
Information Hierarchy
Most important metrics at the top, secondary insights through progressive disclosure.
Actionable Insights
CTAs linked to specific actions for hosts to increase conversion rate.
Connected Experience
User flow that guides hosts naturally to their insights
Leadership Through Challenge
Leadership Through Challenge
Beyond my design work, I navigated the complexity of managing a large remote team. When our PM fell ill, I stepped up to lead client meetings. When documentation became unwieldy across multiple platforms, I implemented AI note-taking and structured communication systems using Fathom AI Notetaker, Slack, and Notion.
My leadership approach:
Pair Designers for Peer Reviews
Use Asynchronous Decision-Making for Flexibility
Maintain Clear Delegation Based on Strengths
"This was a huge project, the collaboration and teamwork was really evident and showed in the presentation and each person knew their piece of the puzzle. Everyone spoke clearly and were polite, engaging and knowledgeable. WELL DONE!!!"
Demo Day Mentor
Impact
Numbers Tell One Story, Humans Tell Another 📊
Our collective efforts resulted in:
94% → 98%
Task Completion Rate
24%
Reduction in Task Difficulty
39%
Faster Event Creation
But the real success? Creating analytics that help hosts understand not just who clicked, but who showed up.
Reflection
The Lesson That Stuck With Me 💡
This project taught me that effective design management means balancing individual craft with team leadership. The biggest challenge wasn't designing the discover feature, it was ensuring our distributed team's ideas came together cohesively while maintaining each designer's creative ownership.
Working on Bloom Social reinforced my belief that social platforms can foster genuine connection when we measure what matters: real people, real events, real community.