Leaf Redemptions Platform
In the card trading world, sometimes the cards that are supposed to be in a product aren't ready at launch. That's where redemptions come in, customers get an IOU to swap for the real card later, either online or by mail.

Redeemleaf.com is the go-to platform for handling these internally and externally, making sure everyone can easily redeem, track, and sort out their cards.

My role was to research, discover opportunities, and redesign the redemptions process for our internal and external users. I worked with internal teams and developers to overhaul Redeemleaf.com, enhancing the user experience, increasing internal processing of redemptions and reducing customer issues related to accounts and access to the site.
Transforming frustration into satisfaction
Since the launch of the redesigned platform, redemptions processing increased by 66%. Additionally, customer login problems and technical support are now less than one percent of all incoming tickets through the website.
66%
Increase in redemptions processed on average
<1%
Of customers experience
account issues
An inefficient & outdated platform
The previous redemption process was full of inefficiencies and bottlenecks, and an outdated interface made the experience frustrating. This resulted in the inability to process redemptions effectively, and headaches for our team and customers.
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“I have all the codes stored in a spreadsheet”
Challenges & approach
When I was approached with this challenge I didn't know anything about redemptions or how the internal processes worked. To understand the needs of all the users, I dove deep into the process from our internal team's perspective and from our users' perspective applying different methodologies of research within the present constraints.
Discovery sessions
I met several times with stakeholders and internal users to gather information about needs, wants, pain points, and expectations of any future solution. I also had several meetings with the developers to analyze what was possible, and what wasn't, allowing us to save time and costs upfront.
Contextual observations
I scheduled several sittings in which I observed the way users were using the platform and identify pain points that might not have come up during discovery sessions.
Customer feedback
We analyzed hundreds of customer comments left through our contact us channel to understand where our biggest opportunities are. With the help of AI, I was able to analyze large amounts of customer's feedback, discovering trends, and common issues.
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“I can't access the page anymore, it says I'm not authorized...”
Designing the solution
With the information gathered from the discovery phase, I conducted brainstorming sessions with internal teams and developers. This collaborative effort helped us identify goals and features that would dramatically increase the users' experience right away and that needed to be include in the end product's initial launch.
New interface
New simplified and mobile friendly interface to facilitate navigation. My researched showed that over 50% of our visitors used mobile devices. Not having a mobile friendly page was the caused of a big chunk of the issues our users were experiencing.
Sign up and log in workflow
Users were going through a lot of steps that were redundant, and hard to follow. A simplified sign up and log in workflow was created, along with easier password recovery steps.
Clear error messages and a path to correct them
Clear error messages with actionable actions for customers to fix, eliminating dead ends.
Code creation
Individual and "batch" creation of codes with a simple two step process that would eliminate the use of external tools and spreadsheet.  By housing code creation and management under a single platform, two external steps were eliminated and integrated into the workflow, increasing productivity and reducing human errors.
Shipping label creation
The ability to connect via API to an external shipping platform to facilitate slip and label creation reducing processing time and internal errors.
New dashboard and automatic updates
Simplified dashboard with redemption information, status and shipping information updates to customers' dashboard, including email alerts. This was done to reduce the amount of tickets from our customers asking about the status of their redemptions.
Update labels
The design of the physical labels was also updated, this was done to make the information easier to understand and to reduce input errors due to bad typographical hierarchy and lack of information chunking.
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Intuitive & efficient redemption management
The new platform has an intuitive and easy to follow process for both internal and external users. This includes code creation and management, eliminating the need for external tools, and spreadsheets to keep track of codes. Shipping automation and automatic status alerts to customers, letting them know when their redemptions have been shipped.
Redemption creation screen
Confirmation
Redemption management view
New signup & customer dashboard
Redesigned redemption card label
Testing and launch
The platform had testing internally and limited testing externally before launch due to time and budget constraints. However, I was able to discover additional needs on this phase.
Ability to add notes
Customer service realized that they needed a section where they could add notes to redemptions, this feature was later implemented.
Shipping information bulk upload
During testing we discovered that in certain cases information from the shipping software was not being transferred, we added a feature that allows customer service representatives to upload a file provided by the shipping software directly to the platform to update tracking numbers and other information.
What did I learn?
Throughout this journey I gained key insights and learned aspects of user experience design that will help me and the team be more effective on future projects.
Workflows are your best friend
Clear communication with users and developers about the specific features and goals of a product is important to meet the expectations and viability of any product. However, a workflow can help illustrate better processes and can help find gaps not obvious at first saving time and money.
The process is not linear
In the process of solving a problem, others will surface, so the ability to be able to jump back and forth regardless of what stage of the process you are is essential.
Changes will happen
Being flexible and adaptable will help at times when inevitable trade-offs have to be made, especially when being the bridge between developers and users.
Release plans and beta testing
Due to time and budget constraints, there was no clear launch plan or live beta testing with external users. This would have helped ensure a smooth transition from the old system to the new system for internal and external users alike.