INDUSTRY:
Wellness & Beauty
COMPANY:
Birdie
ROLE:
Design Lead
YEAR:
2020
Birdie
Overview.
Birdie was an on-demand beauty services app connecting users with licensed professionals for at-home appointments. I was brought on as the solo designer to lead a full redesign of both the customer and professional apps. The original experience was a clunky, off-brand Uber clone — functional, but far from usable.
Over six months, I overhauled the UX and visual design, redefined personas, and rebuilt the product from scratch — transforming it from a map-based booking app into a shopping and appointment management platform that actually aligned with how users think and behave.
Challenge & Approach
The team inherited a half-baked app from a previous vendor — a rough white-label base that prioritized location UX over service selection, creating friction at every step. The UI was dated, the flow was confusing, and real usage data showed massive drop-off and confusion.
The core issue was a misunderstanding of the user mindset: people weren’t looking to navigate a map — they wanted to browse services, customize appointments, and quickly book someone they trusted. The entire mental model needed to shift.
Outcomes.
The redesign launched roughly six months later with a much more intentional and polished experience, and it showed immediate traction:
60% increase in pre-appointment communication, reducing support load
42% boost in cart and checkout conversions
25% lift in rebooking rate via quick actions and tailored flows
Dual app modes optimized for commerce vs. calendar users
Modern UI system with scalable components and refined brand tone
Key edge cases solved in messaging, scheduling, and error-handling
Support volume dropped, with strong qualitative feedback
Post-launch insights led to fast, targeted product improvements
