Squad Design and Launch

The Challenge

0-1 Launch With Intent

Wires were created simultaneously with branding to move quickly to meet deadline

TL; DR

I led product design from concept to launch, creating a system that highlighted culturally resonant UX, ML-powered business discovery, and motivational interfaces rooted in real user behavior. Squad received early praise for being both affirming and action-oriented, with strong App Store ratings at launch.

My Role

Sr. UX/UI
0-1 Launch

Team

Design
Dev
Research

Tools

Figma
Keynote

Many Black-owned businesses and solo entrepreneurs face a lack of centralized tools that speak directly to their workflow, community, and growth needs. Traditional platforms often overlook cultural nuance, motivation-driven UX, and the power of visibility within underserved communities.

The challenge was to create a mobile-first experience that helps these business owners share knowledge, promote and be inspired, and stay connected to others—without feeling like just another app. The deadline: 3 months!

"I want resources without the gatekeeping"

"I want to connect to businesses like mine"

The Research

To design something meaningful, we needed to understand the daily realities of Black creators and entrepreneurs—many of whom juggle multiple income streams, personal brands, and community expectations.

Met with the app owner weekly and outlined features, presented wires and mapped out the app; we were building in real time to make our deadline. to and goals to set. Created stories from research gathered from conducted interviews and informal surveys with small business owners, and community builders.

Identified a core behavioral insight: success would be measured by speed to market and goals met; both by the stakeholder and customer expectations.

What It Is

Squad was built to empower Black entrepreneurs and business owners through a mobile platform that combined goal setting, resource sharing, communication, and community-driven discovery.

Built design system using created and licensed illustrations, stylized icons and some created tokens and interactions

What I Did

I led the ux and the visual language of the app. I worked with 2 other designers who helped create a design system that was scalable and I contributed to and continued to grow it as I designed.

Key features and design moves included:
A dynamic home page with a robust search feature and suggestion engine. Featuring proprietary illustrations and user friendly navigation, the app was tested as an easy to use entry into business connection.

A profile page allowing users to view connect to each personally and capture their interests and saved resources.

Messaging that allowed users to connect 1v1 or create groups and converse and share as a unit.

The branding was being gelled as I worked out features; Squad eventually became the brand of record

Squad’s concept was well-received by the community it was built for, praised for being both affirming and action-oriented

The visual and UX language helped shift internal conversations from generic task management to culturally connected entrepreneurial empowerment

On launch:
iOS App Store rating: 4.69 ★ 

iOS App Store rating: 4.69★ from 13 reviews
Android installs: ~400 total, with 220 downloads in the past month