Value-led onboarding
Outcome-driven setup and a dashboard that rewards progress.
Branch · Self-serve growth
From design drift to design discipline.
I built a versioned design system that keeps shipping fast while holding a unified, measurable brand.
Attribution
Cross-platform Journeys
Deep linking
Analytics
Design Systems
3-step deep links
Smart templates, live previews, and shareable snippets.
Visual journey builder
Actions and triggers that scale across platforms.
Design system (BDL)
Tokens, icons, and components that ship faster.
-50%
QA time
+15%
Revenue lift
-22%
Churn drop
Why this work mattered
Branch was already trusted by major apps—but self-serve adoption lagged. Teams relied on demos and integrations that took days. We wanted to make Branch feel as simple to start as copying a link, yet still enterprise-grade under the hood.
Core problem: "Developers loved Branch. Marketers felt lost."
I joined to bridge that gap—making complex infra understandable, usable, and monetizable for non-technical users.
Enable self-serve growth
1) Attribution simplified
- Re-designed onboarding around desired outcome ("I want to measure campaigns" → guided setup).
- Visualized key metrics in one dashboard for immediate feedback.
- Shifted tone from API first to value first — "See which channel drives installs."
Impact: More users completed full setup within the first session; fewer dropped after SDK steps.
2) Deep linking made approachable
- Turned a developer-heavy flow into a 3-step builder.
- Reusable QR & Smart Link templates with pre-filled behaviors.
- Clear guidance ("Choose where this link should open") + live preview/snippets.
Impact: Setup time dropped from hours to minutes; more cross-team collaboration.
3) Cross-platform Journeys
- Designed a visual journey builder for if-this-then-that paths.
- Integrated events across web, app, and email to complete funnels.
- Reduced visual clutter with modular cards and templates.
Impact: Increased repeat session rate and first automation adoption within a week.
Monetize self-serve in-product
Introduced non-collapsible billing nudges and time-based reminders on the dashboard so free-tier customers add payment details before usage spikes. This keeps value in sync with revenue and sustains continued investment in self-serve.
Trigger PQL upgrades
Tuned paywalls and contextual prompts around advanced deep links, plus surfaced pricing and upgrade paths wherever adoption data signalled success. The result: more product-qualified leads without sales intervention.
Safeguard with locks & usage visibility
Created a paywall lockout flow with clear screenshots of paused features, alongside MAU/MEU usage graphs and overage alerts. Users see when they are near limits, understand why access pauses, and can upgrade or pay instantly.
Make complex tech feel safe
- Added visual confirmation (“tracking active,” “data flowing”) instead of JSON logs.
- Built copy-and-verify steps to prevent SDK misconfigurations.
- Used plain-English error states (“We couldn’t find your app package”).
- In-product tooltips and docs preview—no tab switching.
Prove value, guard reliability
| Focus | What changed | Outcome (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Replaced SDK wall with value-led intro | Noticeably higher setup completion |
| Attribution | Unified reporting widgets | Reduced confusion, fewer support pings |
| Deep linking | Live preview + shareable templates | Faster campaign launch |
| Journeys | Templates surfaced earlier | More automations created per user |
Build for teams, not just users
- Introduced team spaces — clear roles for marketer vs developer.
- "Share project" replaced "invite via email" → less friction.
- Added activity logs for transparency and trust.
Impact: Smoother collaboration and fewer handoff gaps.
Analytics that teach
- Designed modular analytics components for install, retention, and funnels.
- Created visual states: "learning," "stable," "trending."
- Framed metrics as stories — "Your QR codes drove X% installs this week."
Beyond features — Branch Design Library
- Started BDL — unified tokens, icons, interactions.
- Migrated key modules (cards, forms, tooltips) across teams.
- Established usage guidelines to reduce dashboard inconsistencies.
Impact: Faster shipping, shared language, accessible documentation.
Learnings and what’s next
Learnings
- Design from user intent, not feature parity.
- Visibility builds trust — “You can see it working.”
- Developer empathy improves decisions for everyone.
- Systems work scales your time more than any single feature.
What I’d explore next
- Adaptive onboarding based on role detection (dev vs marketer).
- AI-assisted documentation within setup flow.
- Integrations playground for testing without live data.
Risks I owned
- Simplifying could hide flexibility → solved with progressive disclosure.
- Parity between new UI and legacy API dashboards.
- Ensuring design tokens synced across codebases.
Product-led self-serve
Branch’s self-serve platform became faster to adopt, clearer to use, and more trustworthy to scale. Our growth motion moved from sales-assisted to product-led.
Want to dive deeper?
Let's chat about designing trustworthy AI, running growth experiments, or how I can bring this playbook to your team.