KRISTINA ZMAIC

 
Sanctuary Astrology

Real-time user testing the pivotal Live Astrology Reading feature with the city of New York.

Sanctuary, a modern astrology app, saught to validate its revenue model with the introduction of paid live readings targeted at our urban, female+ Millennial audience.

A time-sensitive partnership with NYC Transit Wi-Fi accelerated the need for an MVP launch. Adopting a 'launch swiftly, learn faster' approach, we leveraged one of the world’s largest cities as our testing ground to refine this pivotal feature.

Me: Everything is TOTALLY fine 😬

 

heading4

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Role (like how they define role)
  • I worked on this project as a lead designer.
Main areas of responsibility:
  • Management (sprint planning and weekly reviews)
  • UX analysis (flows and persona)
  • Design (apps and branding)
  • Lo-fi prototyping (basic flow and interactions)
 

Results:

• 4x Apple’s App of the Day

• 4.5+ Reviews App Store/Google Play

• Team Collaboration was the fastest I’ve ever had the fortune to work with.

Logins up 450%

Site traffic up 11%

New content usage up 130%

User feedback up 54%

Timeline:

• 1-Day Hackathon (all hands on deck)

 

Scope

  • Improving the Live Reading Experience as swiftly as possible

1-Day, fast feedback, a lot of coffee & an amazing team.

 
 
 

Touchpoints

Touchpoints allow for regular feedback between managers and employees. Having this dedicated space opens up communications channels and eliminates unwanted surprises during quarterly evaluations. Employees constantly know how they are performing and have a paper trail to show for it. Safe guards were put in place, via the algorithm, so this feature would not be abused in order to excessively manipulate an employees score.

 
 
 
 
 

Before & After Reveal

Before Changes

  • Missing this (https://uxcfurlan.framer.website/opentable)

  • That Look at Katie Cooper: https://www.katiecooper.co/case-study/aro

  • Here

  • There

 
 

After Changes

Missing this (https://uxcfurlan.framer.website/opentable)

  • That

  • Here

  • There

B2B product measuring job performance

Users were unclear that readings were 15 minutes long, involved chatting with a live astrologer, and required a consistent Wi-Fi connection. This confusion led to

  1. frequent Wi-Fi disconnections

  2. frustrated astrologers,

  3. high volume of refund requests.

 

X#
Activated Readings

X#
Live Astrologers

X#
Refund Requests

 
 

[Show the alert of phone on subway]

 
 
 
 
 
Learnings

B2B product measuring job performance

Strategy, UX/UI Design, Design System

Gage allows managers and their team members to have more transparent communication and set clearer expectations. Employees can see how they are performing and take their documented success with them throughout their career.

Learnings

How might we maximize the 15min Reading Experience for Users & Astrologers, and stop the bleeding of refund requests?

ZenDesk was filled with qualitative and quantitative data, sitting alongside the VP of Ops, we worked together to user test the Live Readings Tab as a new user, as well as an existing user who has engaged in many Readings.

 
 

User Insights

    • Readings are 15min long w/a LIVE PERSON

    • Strong Internet Connection for at least 15 consistent mins

    • Information they filled out in onboarding

      Minimum Birthdate:
      • Mo/Day/Year

      More Personalized:
      • Place of Birth (town, state/territory, country)
      • Time of Birth

    • Question in mind

 
 

Astrologer Insights

  • List of what they needed to make the most of 15mins

  • Description text goes here

  • Here’s what I’m taking note of

 
 
 
 
USABILITY AUDIT

Current Live Reading Experience (put little blurbs under each - annotate with Figma 1, 2, 3, 4 Priorities)

 
 

Company loves annotated designs

RAPID IDEATION, USER FLOWS & SKETCHES

Improve Experience for Users & Astrologers

Exploding Pieces w/annotations

 
 

show EVERYTHING IS A CHAT BOT with Horoscopes and Guides.

Show Horoscope bubbles

Show Guides bubbles

Show “Free Reading”

[IMG of Orignal Reading Flow to showcase how confusing it was]

 
 
 

[Sketches of Ideas as you’re getting the list]

 

DESIGN EXECUTION

 

Detail your design process and outcomes.

  • High-Fidelity Designs: Showcase screenshots or prototypes.

  • Features:

    • Simplified booking interface.

    • Filters for dietary preferences or group size.

    • Accessibility improvements like voice commands or color contrast.

 

Flow was ok first before getting approval – sometimes ONE screen at a time messes up better opportunities (added a face to the reader)

 

[Showcase rough sketches –> Full Design Flow]

 

TESTING & ITERATIONS

 

6. Testing & Iterations

Explain how you validated and refined your design.

Testing Methods: A/B testing, user feedback, usability studies.

Results:

E.g., Reservation completion rate increased by 15%.

Users rated the new design as 4.7/5 for usability.

 

Full flow and hand-off after the VP ensured the language was clear and accurate > shipped flow to Eng emphasizing that the flow of screens were in prioritized order.

  1. Green screen of 1,2,3 get shipped – we see significant decrease in refund requests

  2. /3. Onboarding Info screen AND Question Screen: users were confirming/editing > it was getting sent in the chat for both the Astro x User to have transparency

  3. Removed superfluous objects from reading window and added astrologer’s photo into the chat

  4. Reading Screen: More education on live readings for first time users/used tab pattern for “new readings” and “reading history” to make future use much clearer for users.

Next Day:

  1. Waiting for a reader screen w/fun fact

  2. Nice to have - Future: Clearer read receipts of the question that was asked with date (Competitive Analysis – Oscar Health App)

  3. Tabbed Read Receipts

  4. Read Receipts like Oscar Health

  5. Clear Reading Tab: why would I want this?

  6. Hook from free Horoscope to push to reading (could be reused in Guides tab)

  7. Realized we needed an “All of our Astrologers are currently busy, your wait time is…” (come back later/wait)

 

Sanctuary Astrology

Real-time user testing the Live Astrology Reading feature with a partnership with NYC’s subway Wi-Fi.

HEre

RESULTS & OUTCOMES

 

Outcome

Share the impact of your work.

Metrics: Conversion rates, retention, or NPS improvements.

Qualitative Feedback: Quotes from users or stakeholders.

Visuals: Before-and-after comparisons, journey maps, or dashboards.

Up X%
Free-to-Paid Readings

Up X%
Recurring Readings

Down X%
Refund Requests

 

RATINGS & REVIEWS

[Make the reviews and app store icons nice to put here – users really enjoying the app]

 

KEY LEARNINGS & NEXT STEPS

Challenges: E.g., navigating competing stakeholder priorities.

  1. Successes: E.g., improving user engagement with minimal development resources.

  2. Future Opportunities: Suggestions for ongoing enhancements, such as AI-driven recommendations or social features.

 
 
 
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
— Quote Source
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
— Quote Source
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
— Quote Source

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