Shelf
iOS App
2023
Role
Lead Product Designer
Challenges & Goals
Koodos Labs was looking to design a hit consumer social app from the ground up that centered around the media and artists we love, all connected to underlying web3 infrastructure with the end goal of inverting the internet's personal data model to give individuals more agency over their existence online and who has access to our consumption data.
Discovery & Insights
Through extensive qualitative research and building on previous experiments, we identified key needs and desires of our target demographic when it came to media consumption and social media:
Personal Insight: Users habitually memorialize and track important media moments that shape their identity, using various apps, journaling, or physical displays in their bedrooms.
Deeper Connections: They want to stay connected with friends and culture but feel overwhelmed by chaotic online experiences, desiring more authentic connections that reflect their true selves rather than idealized versions.
Fun & Creativity: As playful and creative individuals, they crave expressive online spaces that contrast with the flat, sterile digital world and prefer experiences with a sense of physicality and realness.
Solution
After piecing together the disparate insights we uncovered a solution that showed promising signs of magic and product market fit; a customizable digital shelf that updates as you consume content online and a space where you can see all the media that you and your friends are currently into. Key features included:
Multi media tracking: A curated display of the things that you’re currently listening to, reading, or watching that auto-update across multiple media streams.
Social insights: Novel visibility into you and your friends' media consumption, with a matching feature and the ability to leave reactions.
Personalization: User-driven customization through color themes, imagery, and personal commentary.
Results
After an initial beta launch, Shelf has seen early success with users adding over half a billion items to their Shelves and a 40% month-over-month growth in Shelf creation. It was recognized as one of the "best new social-media apps in 2024" by BusinessInsider, achieving a 4.7-star average user rating and a DAU/MAU ratio of 43% within its first five months, indicating strong user interest and activity.