ROLE
UI/UX Designer
TEAMS
UX, PM, Dev
DURATION
4 Weeks
PLATFORMS
Mobile, Tablet
PROBLEM DISCOVERY
New users are unlikely to purchase a monthly premium pass.
The core Garden Pass is a monthly progression-based feature offering rewards as players complete Challenges. However, we noticed a consistent issue:
New users joining late in the month were significantly less likely to purchase the pass.
This led to lost revenue, lower early retention, and weaker engagement onboarding.
This behavior made sense. Players who joined mid- or late-month felt they had too little time to earn enough rewards, making the purchase feel poor in value.
BUSINESS IMPACT
We’re losing our high-intent users.
We were leaking high-intent new users from one of our primary monetization funnels within their first week, when engagement is most crucial.
GOALS
New pricing strategy.
Increase conversion rate of new users into Garden Pass purchasers
Drive early retention by giving players compelling early rewards
Avoid confusion or perceived unfairness in pricing and pass mechanics
CONSTRAINTS
The pass is based on progress, not time.
Garden Pass progression is progress-based, not time-based
UX needed to accommodate two concurrent passes without overwhelming players
Avoid price anchoring issues (e.g., new users seeing inconsistent pricing month to month)
EXPLORATION & CHALLENGES
Exploration: 1. Prorated Rewards 2. Discounted Late-month Pricing 3. Reduced Threshold
Note: these solutions only apply to newly joined users.
These options risked compromising clarity, fairness, or long-term revenue.
However, lowering the threshold led us to consider running two separate passes concurrently for new users.
FINAL DESIGN & DECISIONS
A 7-day welcome pass available exclusively to new users.
We introduced a new “Welcome Pass”:
Available only to new users
Runs for 7 days from onboarding date
Lower price, tuned to 7-day progression goals
Runs alongside the main monthly Garden pass
This gave players agency: they could buy one, both, or neither, and claim free rewards from both tracks.
UX execution: simplify + differentiate.
The biggest design challenge: visual and conceptual clarity.
- Players had to understand they could earn from both passes for free
- Encourage purchase without creating FOMO overload
- Needed clear visual distinction between the two passes, and strong value cues
DISCARDED CONCEPTS
Reducing indecision…
I proposed a “Help Me Choose” button to guide new players. It was ultimately cut due to concerns about adding friction or drawing attention to indecision. The team prioritized immediate visual clarity and simplicity over guided comparison.
IMPACT & METRICS
3% increase in regularity and 5% revenue growth.
Improved player perception of fairness and choice
Positive qualitative feedback on being “welcomed” with a tailored offer
Strong player sentiment around value alignment and timing
A significant increase in early monetization among new players
Improved conversion from first-week players to paying users
A measurable rise in player engagement, with more users returning across their first 7 days
This feature ultimately validated that strategic segmentation and pricing timing. When paired with a clear UX, they can yield strong business results.
REFLECTION & TAKEAWAYS
Strategic clarity beats clever UX tricks. Success came from nailing the product structure more than from visual flourish.
Balancing monetization and UX means thinking in terms of value, perception, and trust, especially during onboarding.
While I was excited about the “Help Me Choose” concept, this taught me to recognize when less is more. Sometimes clarity isn’t about explanation, it’s about strong defaults and confident framing.