Shaping a New Social Media Experience
Sarah Thauer
Published
Collaborated with an early-stage startup to transform an ambitious social media concept into a structured product vision through UX strategy, product discovery, and interface design.
My Role
UX Strategy Product Discovery UX Design UI Design User Story Mapping Wireframing Branding & Visual Identity
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The Challenge
The startup had a compelling vision for a different kind of social media platform, but the concept was still abstract and open to interpretation. Features, workflows, and the overall product experience had yet to be defined.
The challenge was to align the team around a shared vision and transform scattered ideas into a product that could be validated and further developed.
Great products rarely start with polished requirements—they begin with ideas that need structure, clarity, and direction.
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The Approach
Working closely with the founders, I facilitated collaborative discovery sessions to refine the product vision and establish a common understanding across the team.
Using methods such as User Story Mapping, we challenged assumptions, identified core user needs, and prioritized the platform’s most valuable features.
Based on these findings, I translated the concept into user flows, wireframes, interface designs, and a visual identity that brought the product to life.
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The Outcome
What started as an abstract idea evolved into a tangible product concept with clearly defined user journeys, feature priorities, and a recognizable visual identity.
The project provided the startup with a solid foundation for future product development while ensuring that design decisions were aligned with both user needs and business goals.
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