JeneeUs – Designing a Social App from the Ground Up
At JeneeUs, a Gen Z–focused startup, I worked as the first designer to help shape the core user experience and visual identity of a new social app. This role gave me the opportunity to design from the ground up, building wireframes, mockups, and design systems that set the foundation for the product.
Company
Year
2024
Role
Founding Product Designer
Challenge
At JeneeUs, there was no design foundation to build from, no brand, no component library, no defined user flows. As the first and only designer, I had to make calls that would lock in the product direction before a single line of code was written. The core tension was that Gen Z users have high visual standards and zero tolerance for apps that feel corporate or templated. The product needed to feel native to how that generation actually communicates.
Impact
Shipped complete MVP design in 8 weeks as the sole designer.
Established the full design system from scratch.
Prototypes used directly for stakeholder and investor validation.
Gave developers a complete handoff with zero ambiguity.
Solution
I started with the design system before touching any screens, color, type, spacing, and component rules. Getting that foundation right meant every screen that followed had consistent visual logic behind it. I owned the visual identity, defining a color palette and type system that felt expressive but not chaotic. I designed the onboarding flow to front-load interest selection since the core value prop was interest-based connection. The two highest-frequency surfaces, group chat and feed layouts, went through multiple iterations until the interactions felt lightweight and fast. Prototypes were kept high-fidelity enough that the founding team could use them directly in stakeholder conversations. Shipped the full MVP design in 8 weeks.
Reflections
Being the only designer at an early-stage startup means every decision is yours and there's no one to catch you if you get it wrong. What I learned is that speed and quality aren't opposites when you have strong foundations. The design system wasn't overhead, it was what made 8 weeks possible. I'd make that same move first on every early-stage product.
More work
2019 - 2025
A showcase of digital products I’ve crafted for SaaS, FinTech, and startup teams.
