Background
A legacy content management platform plagued by errors, poor workflows, and low adoption after a failed earlier release.
Challenge
Overhaul the product in 4 months with a new team, fixing usability and adoption issues to win back social media managers.
Impact
100% retail partners migrated to Publish 2.0
in 4 months
~36% reduction in customer support tickets
after 4 months
Built a scalable product
TikTok was integrated later
Sped up future initiatives & problem solving
through cross-team knowledge sharing
Team
My role
End-to-end design
Documentation
Timeline
Sep '23 - Jan '24 (4 months)
Full story
Flowbox: empowering global brands with authentic UGC
Flowbox is a B2B SaaS platform helping 850+ retail partners worldwide turn authentic user-generated content into powerful marketing. Operating in 40+ countries, it drives engagement through a subscription-based model.
As one of only two designers at Flowbox, I collaborated across product, engineering, customer success & sales teams, leading end-to-end design for four products, including Publish.
Publish is a tool for scheduling and distributing visual UGC across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and TikTok. Although Publish 2.0 launched in 2021, it faced significant usability and adoption challenges when I joined Flowbox.
Some of the major issues included:
1. Error loops
blocking workflows
For instance, adding a Facebook link without a URL, triggered an endless error loop with no guidance.
For example, editing a post after its scheduled time could cause it to fail, yet the social media managers received no feedback on what went wrong.
As a result, only 25% of retail partners (10/40) had adopted Publish 2.0, and supporting two versions of the product was draining resources and slowing growth
Achieving full adoption of Publish 2.0 became a key business goal, with the plan to migrate the remaining 30/40 retail partners within four months.
Key challenges
1. Knowledge gap
When I joined, most of the original product, tech, and design teams had left, creating a significant knowledge gap.
2. Tight timeline
The revamp had to be executed by a completely new team under a tight 4-month timeline.
3. Uncovering hidden issues
As we dug deeper into the product, we uncovered numerous hidden bugs and issues that needed to be addressed
Iterative approach
to fix critical issues
I adopted an iterative approach inspired by the Double Diamond framework, working closely with PMs and developers to ensure designs were feasible. Together, we prioritized issues based on criticality, impact, and effort, creating a clear backlog to guide execution.
Refocussing on the core problem
1. Error loops
blocking workflows
Our first priority was to fix the error loops that blocked workflows and frustrated social media managers.
For example, adding a Facebook link without a URL triggered an endless error loop. My initial approach was separating the input with inline validation, but this only partially solved it.
Decoding the source
of workflow errors
Through testing with developers, I discovered two error types:
System errors (e.g., API failures) needing instant validation
User errors (e.g., empty posts) appearing at the workflow’s end, requiring delayed checks.
These insights guided targeted error handling.
Redesigned validation
I redesigned the validation flow using a mix of inline and on-click validations, catching immediate mistakes and handling later errors smoothly. I also reused an existing component for error summary to save development time.
API failures were previously only visible in the dashboard. I added real-time notifications showing errors and their impact on scheduled posts, giving users immediate visibility and a smoother workflow.
Building a shared
guide for error handling
While redesigning the validation flow, I created an error handling documentation through feedback sessions with developers and the PM, creating consistent UX patterns and a shared knowledge base for the team.
Impact
After launching the updated Publish, we closely monitored key metrics.
Next steps
Turning data into actionable insights for smarter scheduling
Given more time, I would integrate social media analytics into Publish, enabling managers to optimize posting times and drive measurable engagement, positioning Flowbox as a seamless, all-in-one platform.
Key learnings
Balancing quick wins with long-term scalability: finding the sweet spot between user impact and development effort.
Learned how UGC and trends drive brand trust and consumer perception.
Staying flexible is key to navigating ambiguity in a legacy system rather than following a single rigid process.
