04
Cupid
Overview
A smarter way to manage personal and shared subscriptions.
Role
Sole UI/UX Designer
Team
4 Developers
Timeline
March - July 2024
Skills
Visual Design
UI & UX Design
UX Research
User Testing
The problem
The job referral process is often unclear and inaccessible for many job seekers.
Candidates struggle to find employees willing to refer them, while referrers are overwhelmed with unstructured and high-volume referral requests. Existing solutions fail to offer a seamless experience that supports both roles – job seekers and referrers.
The Cupid team contacted me -> they need the first referral requests () prototype within a week. We immediately set up a meeting to do a deep dive into the product to define the problem space and scope of the project before setting out the first deadline.
Due to the time crunch, I carried out 2 in-depth user interviews with a referral candidate and a referrer. Based on the collected insights, I created two personas to help guide the design and development strategy.
The result
No chasing, no forgotten payments, and no one left covering the bill – yay!
Introducing Fair Share, where we designed a system where each shared subscription is tied to its own virtual card: a secure digital card created specifically for that service.
Every member links their payment method once, and from there the process is seamless. Each month, the app automatically splits the cost, verifies each person’s balance, and charges them directly.
The low fidelity wireframe!
testing & Iterating
how do we build trust?
Trust & privacy are fragile
Nobody likes extra fees
Many steps for the leader
However, creating a virtual card from Stripe, a third-party platform, poses many challenges that we didn't foresee:
To create a virtual card, users are required to submit personal details and link a bank card. For a brand-new app, this step introduces a high risk of drop-off, as many users fear their financial information could be compromised. Building trust here is critical: the process needs clear communication, visible security assurances, and transparency about third-party providers.
Another friction point lies in the cost itself. While generating a virtual card only incurs a fee of 10 cents, this seemingly small amount can feel like a significant hurdle—especially for first-time users who are unsure about the app’s long-term value.
Finally, the group leader faces the most complex burden. Their responsibilities extend beyond personal setup: they must select the subscription, invite or approve members, finalize the group, split the cost, send out payment consent, wait for approvals, create and fund the virtual card, and only then use it to purchase the service. This long, multi-step process is where abandonment risk is highest. Simplifying and clarifying the subscription flow for leaders became a key design priority to keep groups from stalling before they even begin.
The steps of work required for the leader to create a group and subscribe to a shared service.
The proposed solution
Building trust through communication & allowing autonomy
For the User Information and Card Details modals during onboarding, I added a tooltip for extra information, while also making these screens optional so the user can skip, allowing the app to build trust for the user before prompting them to commit to our MVP. Without a virtual card, users can still manage their personal subscription.
Prior to creating a virtual card, I also added a screen noting important information and use a checkbox both for background API requirements and making sure that the user fully understands the nature of using virtual cards for their subscriptions.
For group subscriptions, I broke down the service-subscription part into steps for the leader, providing them with context on navigating outside of the app, subscribing, and coming back to activate the subscription for the group members.
the Final product
fairshare.
