Digital product concept prototype design & build
Built with
Microbrave is a startup product I co-created during a hackathon – On Deck’s Global Build Weekend in February 2021.
Design challenge
I co-built this MVP with Glenn from theflow.agency, myself focussing on design and front-end build and Glenn on the back-end workflows.
The prototype consists of a toolkit for indie makers and founders to build in public. The data is stored in Airtable and the membership and payments uses Outseta.
For internal discussion and planning, I first created quick wireframe designs in Figma using the Systemflow framework. These then formed the basis of the build in Webflow, where I added design detail as I went, for expediency.
Project notes
Process & solution
I used various methods used to understand the problem and start research. I already had first-hand experience of the problem as an indie maker myself, and I was able to gain further insights from the online community and from talking to influencers. I gathered these insights as research in Notion, and then set about defining the problem and potential solutions.
- Outlined the problem & our solution
- Planned an MVP set of features
- Wireframed a landing page
- Designed a simple brand
- Built in public
As part of the project, a quick, but effective initial brand was needed to help raise the profile during the hackathon. The target market was indie makers and founders dealing with anxiety and struggle over building in public. So I used relatable, friendly characters as the face of the brand – lions are a metaphor for fearlessness. The other other methods I used to expedite a brand were:
- Purchased a set of stock library illustrations
- Developed quick colour palette from the lion emoji
- Selected a quirky, free Google font for headings
From all of this, we were able to launch a free to use prototype to people during the hackathon:
- Early low-fi prototype of the MVP feature set
- Launched a landing page, for early sales
- Used the product ourselves whilst building, to demonstrate
With feedback from the free prototype, we were able to make improvements to the product after the initial launch (post hackathon)
- Sought more feedback from early users
- Received many more validating tweets
- Released product iterations and improvements in following weeks
Impact & learnings
The project won two awards as a result of the Global Build Weekend.
- Best No-Code Build
- Demo Day Crowd Favourite
It also achieved good interest in the first couple of weeks after launch:
- 500 signups
- 20 paying customers
- $100 MRR
Want to discuss a project, opportunity, or just say a friendly hello?
I’m based in the UK and available for freelance projects or part-time work- 25+ years experience as a designer and creator
- Multi-skilled in digital design, UX, prototype building and Webflow development
