Mobile Product Design

Rebuilding the
Insider app

Rebuilding the
Insider app

Role / Senior Product Designer

Team / 1 Product Lead, 5 Engineers

Results / 4× Engagement, 250% Subscription Growth

Overview

Business Insider shifted its brand identity to “Insider” in 2021. To support the transition, our product and design leaders partnered with an external agency to validate the product strategy and establish an initial concept and visual system for the new mobile app.

I joined the newly formed internal mobile team as its sole product designer, responsible for turning the visual foundation into a launch-ready product and evolving it after launch.

My work focused heavily on the subscription experience—from authentication and checkout to paywalls, conversion experiments, and ongoing optimization informed by product data.

Working closely with our Product Lead and five Engineers, I also helped establish the product and design practices that shaped how our new team collaborated, planned, and shipped.

Business Insider shifted its brand identity to “Insider” in 2021. To support the transition, our product and design leaders partnered with an external agency to validate the product strategy and establish an initial concept and visual system for the new mobile app.

I joined the newly formed internal mobile team as its sole product designer, responsible for turning the visual foundation into a launch-ready product and evolving it after launch.

My work focused heavily on the subscription experience—from authentication and checkout to paywalls, conversion experiments, and ongoing optimization informed by product data.

Working closely with our Product Lead and five Engineers, I also helped establish the product and design practices that shaped how our new team collaborated, planned, and shipped.

 Initial product direction established with external agency

The Work

Building the Product Architecture

As a subscription-first product, we needed to understand how authentication, account status, subscriptions, and navigation worked together across the product.

Subscription status affected what readers could access throughout the app, so login, account creation, and purchasing couldn't be treated as isolated flows. I mapped the system to define user states, edge cases, entry and return points, and handoffs between flows.

As a subscription-first product, we needed to understand how authentication, account status, subscriptions, and navigation worked together across the product.

Subscription status affected what readers could access throughout the app, so login, account creation, and purchasing couldn't be treated as isolated flows. I mapped the system to define user states, edge cases, entry and return points, and handoffs between flows.

Designing the Details

I extended the visual system across new screens, states, and interactions—writing interface copy, creating iconography, and expanding the color palette to include dark mode.

Reducing Subscription Friction

Our original subscription flow required readers to create an account before completing a purchase. It provided a clear relationship between an account and its subscription, but added friction at the highest-intent moment in the journey.

When changes to Apple's App Store policies gave us more flexibility, we reconsidered that sequence and made account creation an optional step after purchase.

Designing the Post-Purchase Experience

Delaying account creation until after purchase created a new challenge: encouraging subscribers to finish setting up their accounts.

I partnered with the Marketing team to refine our messaging and introduce conversion moments that reinforced the value of creating an account while celebrating the subscriber experience. I provided UX writing guidance—including tone, brevity, and character limits—to keep messaging consistent with the rest of the app.

Designing for Conversion

Rather than simply replicating the existing web paywall, we used the app rebuild as an opportunity to reconsider how and when readers encountered subscription messaging.

We introduced a dynamic meter-based paywall to balance an editorial-first reading experience with a flexible framework for subscription messaging.

Instead of abruptly blocking access, the meter showed readers how many free articles remained before guiding them toward subscription.

Continuous Optimization

Once live, we continued to test and iterate based on performance data. For the subscription modal, I refined the layout, hierarchy, plan selection, and CTA behavior—including pre-selecting a plan and introducing a persistent CTA, which improved conversion.

Building Reading Habits

Beyond subscriptions, we looked at long-term engagement. Using Nir Eyal's Hook Model as a strategic framework, we identified push notifications as one of the most important opportunities to establish repeat reading habits.

We tested prompt timing, messaging, frequency, and onboarding moments to increase notification opt-in rates and long-term engagement.

We initially relied on a generic permission prompt, then looked for more contextual moments to introduce notifications. I integrated notification opt-in with Follow—prompting readers after they had already expressed interest in receiving more from a topic.

Outcomes

The redesigned app became a meaningful driver of both engagement and subscription growth, ultimately increasing engagement 4× and subscription volume by 250% compared with the third-party app it replaced.

250%
subscriptions

4x
engagement

Built to Evolve

The app continued to evolve through ongoing testing, product iterations, and changing business priorities.

I remained involved with the app as it continued to evolve, overseeing the product as UXD Director through April 2025—including its visual refresh when Insider returned to the Business Insider brand.

Reflections

This project shaped how I think about product design. Building the app taught me that great products aren't created in a single redesign—they're built through close collaboration, continuous iteration, and a willingness to keep learning from what ships.

© 2024