Situation
With the rise of the creator economy, more new Gen Z bloggers are turning to social platforms to build their presence. However, many face challenges such as lack of inspiration, weak content quality, and poor publishing strategies, making it hard to grow. This project aimed to design a solution that supports new bloggers through early-stage struggles and helps them build sustainable blogging careers.
Task
I identified key user pain points, defined product direction, and created a high-fidelity interactive prototype. The main challenge was synthesizing diverse user needs—from inspiration generation to content optimization—into a coherent product experience that empowers new bloggers to create and grow confidently.
Action
Conducted 140+ survey responses and 6 in-depth interviews to uncover the key challenges of beginner bloggers.
Defined four core feature pillars, and designed end-to-end workflows based on those pillars to address the content creation journey.
Performed two rounds of usability testing and one round of A/B testing (90+ feedback points) to validate feature usefulness and improve UI/UX clarity.
Iterated on visual design, UX writing, and layout hierarchy to reduce friction and guide first-time users more effectively.
Action
Conducted 140+ survey responses and 6 in-depth interviews to uncover the key challenges of beginner bloggers.
Defined four core feature pillars, and designed end-to-end workflows based on those pillars to address the content creation journey.
Performed two rounds of usability testing and one round of A/B testing (90+ feedback points) to validate feature usefulness and improve UI/UX clarity.
Iterated on visual design, UX writing, and layout hierarchy to reduce friction and guide first-time users more effectively.
Result
The final solution significantly lowered the barrier for new bloggers to begin and sustain content creation. In usability testing, 90% of participants reported the app made it easier to generate content ideas, and 85% said they felt more confident publishing content after using the prototype.
Result
The final solution significantly lowered the barrier for new bloggers to begin and sustain content creation. In usability testing, 90% of participants reported the app made it easier to generate content ideas, and 85% said they felt more confident publishing content after using the prototype.
Since its inception, the SmartIntellect product has been dedicated to helping merchants increase their sales and customer conversion rates in a more seamless and efficient manner. Currently, it has successfully developed an MVP version and has passed market validation.
Although most merchants acknowledge that SmartIntellect can bring value to their business, their intentions regarding future subscriptions and usage remain unclear, even as the product is about to enter the formal pre-sales stage.
We also did some competitive product analysis... of course not just this.
Three factors are influencing merchants' decision on whether to pay for SmartIntellect:
Three factors are influencing merchants' decision on whether to pay for SmartIntellect:
🔎 We got some insights from user research
We conducted user research to find out what was going on. Fortunately, we gathered a lot of valuable feedback during the user interviews.
😮💨 However, the merchants' potential willingness to pay is not evident
Blogging is no longer just websites.
With the rise of social media, blogging has expanded from independent websites to platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Rednote, lowering the entry barrier for content creation and fostering a more open creator ecosystem.
Traditional bloggers often rely on personal websites and use social platforms to drive traffic, whereas Gen Z creators primarily produce and share content directly on social platforms, treating them as the main stage for engagement.
However, something happened.
Although the barrier to entry for content creation has lowered, modern bloggers face greater challenges—such as high content production pressure, fast-paced update cycles, serious content homogeneity, and unstable exposure—making it difficult for creators to gain sustained attention and long-term growth.
These challenges stem from algorithm-driven content distribution, an oversupply of creators competing for limited attention, Gen Z’s demand for rapid, visual content, and the growing gap in monetization capabilities between top and average creators.
To better understand users, I conducted primary research.
I designed and conducted a survey, collecting 140 responses from the target demographic.
I also conducted 6 one-on-one in-depth interviews, each lasting 45 minutes.
8 Themes 19 Insights from research
