Something was missing.
It just took research to find it.
GYST is an AI-powered analytics platform built for elite content creators and their business teams — the CFOs, COOs, and talent managers who need to understand complex, multi-platform revenue data without becoming analysts. But somewhere between logging in and getting started, something was quietly falling apart — and nobody could explain why. This is the story of how we figured it out.
Scroll for the story, or jump to the solution here.
TL;DR
Problem
New users felt lost on first login - no clear path to get started
Solution
Guided onboarding - step by step, skippable, confidence-first
My Role
UX Research
UX Writing
UX / UI Design
Prototyping
Ideation & Strategy
Usability Testing
Illustrations
Team
Samantha Wadelius
Valeria Moroz
Affan Alam
Zartab Tahir
Saina Jeng
01
PROBLEM SPACE
Was the data really the problem?
The brief was not a list of features. It was a set of feelings to fix — users logging in for the first time, not knowing where to start, and quietly giving up before the platform could prove its value. Before any design work could begin, it was necessary to understand who the design was for and what was actually getting in their way.
The approach to identifying what needed to be fixed:
Know who I was designing for
Talking to creators and their business teams — understanding their mental models around data, their avoidance behaviours, and what "feeling confident about your numbers" actually looks like in practice.
Understand the business goals
Mapping what success meant for GYST: returning users, reduced hesitation, and increased query frequency. Not just utility — emotional uplift. The goal was confidence, not just comprehension.
Define the problem with precision
Translating frustration into distinct problem statements — from cognitive overload and avoidance, to onboarding experiences that place all interpretive burden on the user from the very first screen.
Identify best practices in the space
Looking at onboarding patterns to understand how complex setups can feel simple and easy to complete—highlighting ways to show value early, reduce cognitive load, and guide users with clarity.
02
PERSONA
GYST serves multiple segments, but the first-time user is the most critical to get right - the person who will either become a loyal user or leave in the first five minutes.
Jess
Creator-operator · US-based · Top 5% earner
About Jess
Runs a US-based media and education company generating $10–500M annually across sponsorships, digital products, memberships, merch, events, and IP.
Operates across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, Beehiiv, Patreon, and e-commerce, with 5–15 years of content experience and a small, high-leverage team
What Jess wants
Double revenue in ~24 months without doubling workload
Grow recurring income - memberships, subscriptions, retainers
Use data to guide platform, product, and pricing decisions
Data is scattered
Revenue data lives across 7+ platforms and internal spreadsheets that constantly break.
Hard money questions
"Which content drives the most revenue per viewer?" takes hours to answer, if at all.
Decisions based on gut
Pricing and sponsorships are negotiated without real profitability data.
Jess goal with GYST
"I want to walk away from a dashboard feeling smart - not intimidated. I need to understand what is happening and what to do next, without hiring another analyst."
03
RESEARCH
The messy middle.
Research is never linear. This is what it looked like before it became clear.
04
KEY INSIGHTS
Here is what was discovered.
No. 1
Users had to connect platforms before understanding the product value.
The original flow pushed users straight into account connection on login - before they had any sense of what GYST was or why it would be worth the effort. Many dropped off before ever seeing the product.
No. 2
The setup process lacked a clear starting point and endpoint.
Users had no way to tell how long onboarding would take or where they were in the process. Without a sense of progress, the setup felt open-ended and exhausting - causing abandonment mid-flow.
No. 3
Users were uncertain about data protection, which affected trust.
Being asked to link multiple revenue platforms is a high-trust action. Without reassurance, users questioned whether their business data was safe - a concern that was entirely rational for a top-earning creator.
No. 4
There was no easy way to navigate back and forth between steps.
The original onboarding was a one-way corridor. If a user changed their mind or accidentally moved past a step, there was no way back - the opposite of the confident tone GYST wished to set.
05
THE OPPORTUNITY
Before a single pixel was designed.
After mapping the journey and aligning on the research, the direction became clear. These were the things that had to get right.
No. 1
Show value before asking for anything
No. 2
Make the setup feel bounded and lightweight
A clear start, a visible end, and step-by-step progress so users always know where they are - and that it will not take long.
No. 3
Build trust through transparency, not fine print
Address data security directly, in plain language, at the exact moment users need reassurance - not buried in a FAQ you will never read.
No. 4
Give users control from the first screen
Free navigation between steps, skip options at every stage, and the ability to return later - so users move at their own pace, not yours.
06
BEST PRACTICES
What are the current
best practices in the space?
Auditing onboarding flows across analytics and digital products revealed a clear pattern — the ones that worked showed value before asking for commitment, made progress visible, and kept the user in control. These became the benchmark for everything that followed in the GYST redesign.
We looked at Duolingo onboarding as a reference to understand how a complex setup can feel simple, guided, and easy to complete while showing value early.
We also looked at Time2book (a fitness studio management platform) as a reference, as its onboarding flow felt easy to adapt to GYST’s desktop experience.
07
USER FLOWS
Same onboarding. Different journey.
Not every user arrives at GYST ready to commit. Therefore, we created two distinct onboarding flows. One is tailored specifically to Jess’s situation, where she has purchased a subscription and needs guidance to get started with the platform. The other follow has a similar structure but allows new users to explore the platform freely, with a limited number of credits and no immediate commitment required.
User flow 1 - The Paid Subscriber
Jess has already made her decision. This flow supports that commitment by getting her set up quickly and without friction. She is guided through a short sequence of steps: orientation, preference setup, and platform connection. The steps are lightweight, with skippable exits that let her stay in control. The flow maintains momentum from start to finish and ends with a clear completion moment, leaving her ready to use the product.
User flow 2 - The Free Explorer
After in-depth research, we discovered that the platform could benefit from showing the product’s value before commitment. The main barrier to acquiring more users is a lack of understanding of its value. Based on this, we developed an alternative onboarding flow.
This flow is for users who haven’t committed yet and are not being pressured to do so. After completing the same onboarding flow, they receive five free credits and access to a demo dashboard. The demo isn’t watered down—it’s a full preview that allows for free exploration and helps understand the product’s value before commitment.
08
UI DESIGN
Translating Flow into Interface Design.
We took our earlier, thoughtfully developed User Flow 1 and used it as the blueprint for the design direction. We translated it into sequential, structured layouts that guide users clearly and purposefully through the experience, while maintaining GYST’s brand colors and visual identity.
09
PROTOTYPE
Every screen decision was made in service of a single question: what does this user need to feel and know right now?
Challenge No.1
The original flow opened straight into a connection prompt. No context, no introduction, no reason to trust. We created a flow where the platform earns the user’s willingness to connect their data before ever asking for it.
Challenge No.2
How to make the setup feel bounded and manageable?
Without any visible structure, onboarding felt like it could go on forever. Users need to know upfront how much they are signing up for. We addressed this by clearly structuring the flow and defining its scope from the start.
"Step X of 7" label on every screen sets a clear expectation of length
A distinct "You are all set" completion screen gives users a satisfying endpoint
Two end states - with and without connected accounts - so users who skipped still land meaningfully
Challenge No.3
Connecting Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok simultaneously is a significant act of trust. We designed the experience to address this directly, at the right moment, and in the right tone of voice.
Security reassurance placed directly on the connection screen - not in a FAQ
Email verification framed with personality: "Just checking you are not a bot - safety first, party second"
GYST AI conversational tone builds ambient trust before the high-stakes connection moment
Challenge No.4
How to give users real control over their own onboarding?
A one-way corridor is an anxiety-inducing experience. Jess is a busy, decisive operator who needs to feel in control of her time and choices from the very first screen. We made the navigation fully controllable and flexible to address this.
The interface supports flexible navigation with Back and Next buttons, allowing easy movement between steps
"Skip" present at several stages, including the most sensitive moment of platform connection
Users who skip are surfaced a gentle, non-pushy prompt on the dashboard - not penalised