Flexifind · Principal designer · 2 min read
Turning a branding brief into one product model for a two-sided marketplace
A solo founder brought me in to refresh the visual identity of a half-built marketplace. An audit showed the problem wasn't visual: core journeys were missing, pages had no clear job and the components had no product model underneath. I reframed the work into a full product redesign, built on seven core objects shared by both sides of the marketplace.
- Two-sided marketplace
- Product redesign
- Information architecture
7
Core objects shared by clients and providers
Brand → product
The brief, after the product audit
The brief said branding; the product needed structure
Flexifind connects client organisations with freelancers, teams and studios, and earns through completed work rather than subscriptions. Before changing the visual language, I audited the journeys, page responsibilities and components. Core journeys were incomplete, several pages lacked a clear purpose, and the components had no consistent product model underneath.
DecisionI presented the gaps as product and development risks before any visual work, accepting the risk of losing a small, already-agreed engagement.
OutcomeThe founder expanded the engagement to user stories, information architecture, the core flows, dashboards and the design system.
Both sides of the marketplace needed one model
I mapped the marketplace from both sides, the providers offering work and the clients hiring them, and defined seven shared objects: Service Provider, Client Organisation, Service, Job Request, Proposal, Team Member and Portfolio Item.
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DecisionI spent time on stories, relationships and page responsibilities before screens, on a project the founder expected to be visual.
OutcomeEvery page became a view onto the same model, with shared terminology and predictable relationships on both sides.
Every page had to earn trust for the next decision
Search results support comparison, service and studio pages establish credibility, and checkout makes escrow, milestones and payment terms explicit before commitment. Clients can browse before registering; account creation waits until they request a quote or start a transaction.
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DecisionI removed or deprioritised features that didn't build trust, clarify the offer or move users to the next step.
OutcomeOne consistent path from discovery to a funded project, with the same concepts and vocabulary throughout.
The team inheriting it had to build without me
I wouldn't stay through implementation, so the handoff couldn't depend on me. I extended the model into provider dashboards and client workspaces, and turned recurring patterns into tokens, components, modules and page templates; one semantic token set supports both light and dark themes. The product was still being built when I left, so I don't claim usage or conversion results.
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DecisionI did more systems work and documentation than the engagement called for, so the product could outlive my involvement.
OutcomeThe founder and developers could keep building from a coherent system after I left.