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Role: UX Designer Tools: Adobe Creative Suite, Figma Team: Cailey Booze and Mo Touman (Mentor) Timeline: 3 Weeks
Simplifying Subscription Management for Subscribers
Context
Transformed early-stage, desktop wireframes into a fully designed mobile subscription tracking app expanding into Germany, a culture that operates based on transparency, trust, and conservative spending.
The problem
Nearly 70% of the American population manages more than one subscription, with around 74% of consumers stating subscriptions are difficult to manage and are prone to being forgotten about.
Additionally, nearly 74% of companies that offer subscription based services use at least one "dark pattern" to get people to subscribe or hinder cancellations.
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The solution
I have designed Sublify, a mobile application that streamlines subscription management for users.
Process
Discover
Secondary Research
Research on German culture and their relationship with finances revealed a very conservative and transparent approach:
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Financial habits are more concerned with responsible spending and “living within your means”, while in the US, credit card debt is normalized and common.
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Germany is more concerned with purchasing subscriptions as “contract agreements with clear ways out”.
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Existing research on German fintech adoption reveals that users value transparency, control, and clear data privacy assurances.
This research tells me that the product I design needs to prioritize transparency, user control, and clear consent mechanisms in order to build trust with German users.
Primary Research
I started my project with 5 unmoderated user interviews. My goal was to understand users mindset around subscriptions, how they manage them, and where it becomes a hassle. I recruited users that are careful with spending, and have at least one subscription.
Affinity Mapping
I made an affinity map to synthesize the information from user testing:
Insights
This exercise revealed the most important patterns within my interviews, listed below:
Desire features
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Highlights the need for customized reminders
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Many wish there was something to make their subscription feel "real" after they get it.
Pain Points
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Subscriptions are "out of sight, out of mind"
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Users hate when subscriptions are hard to cancel
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Yearly subscriptions are "sneaky"
Emotional response
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High stress looking at money apps.
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Hates to see problems with finances
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Many users avoid money apps
Current tools
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Many users utilize excel to track subscriptions with the rest of finances
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Many say their methods "works well enough"
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Others don't use any methods.
Quotes
During my user interviews, there were many statements that stood out to me.
"I use excel to track my subscriptions along with the rest of my finances---it's good, but it's not great.
User 1
"I hate forgetting about my subscriptions. I don't just need one reminder... I need like five!
User 2
"I hate looking at anything related to money. It causes a lot of stress and I usually find myself avoiding
those apps.
User 3
What Users Need
After synthesizing my information, I have made a list of the most important features that users need within a subscription management app, listed below.
A centralized view of subscriptions
Clear differentiation between monthly vs yearly
Low-effort setup and maintenance
Repeated reminders before renewals
Easy cancellation paths
Trustworthy presentation
Product Goals
This became the basis for what features the app needs to prioritize and be built around.
Design & Validate
User Flow
To ensure that the app is intuitive and reduces cognitive load, I created a user flow illustrating the main paths users take to complete core tasks in Sublify. This flow helped me identify potential friction points and guided the design of navigation, hierarchy, and onboarding.
Sketching
I first sketched out the basic skeleton of the low fidelity wireframes that I wanted to use for my solution, which are shown below. This was where the basic UI elements started to come together for the four main screens, which were key screens on the desktop low fidelity wireframes I was given.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Once I had sketched out the basic wireframe layout, I moved into Figma to bring together a low-fidelity prototype, shown below.
User Testing Round One
Once I finished my low fidelity wireframes, I moved into the first round of user testing. Here, I am only testing for functionality within the application. I conducted five unmoderated remote usability tests.
100%
of interviewees thought the UI was clean and clear
80%
of interviewees enjoyed the insights posted on the application.
100%
of interviewees stated it was hard to find where to turn on the notifications.
60%
of interviewees didn't understand why there were two screen with subscription overview information.
Issue
100% of users said it was difficult to find where to turn on the notifications for subscriptions, as most checked the subscription itself first.
60% of users did not understand why there were two sections with subscription information.
Insights
The location for the notification toggle does not match user expectations.
Suggests a lack of clear labeling and differentiation.
Design Opportunity
Move notifications into the subscription itself, making them easier to find.
Consolidate the sections and differentiate the content.
Round One Iteration
Because 100% of user test participants revealed that they had trouble finding notification settings, this major issue was the issue that I tackled first.
During user testing, all of the users first had the instinct to turn on notifications for subscriptions in the subscription itself. Originally, I put the notification settings in the settings tab. After testing, I moved them into the subscription itself.
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Because 60% of user test participants revealed that they did not understand why there were two sections with subscriptions themselves, I decided to consolidate the sections.
Originally, I had separated them to to include a high level overview on the dashboard and a more in-depth version on the subscriptions section to eliminate overwhelm. However, this only seemed to confuse users.
High-fidelity Prototypes
Once I finished user testing and synthesized my information into changes, I got started putting together the high fidelity prototype. This is where all of the high fidelity UI elements came together to make a high-fidelity prototype with clear hierarchy and functional clarity.
User Testing Round Two
I moved into user testing with my high fidelity prototype. I conducted four unmoderated usability tests. I have already identified the main usability functions, and now I am looking for further usability issues and UI problems. The results are listed below.
>75%
of core subscription tasks in user testing were successfully completed by participants.
75%
of usability issues were related to the calendar and insight not being clear in regards to information display.
100%
of participants liked the visual design and found the app intuitive, reinforcing the strengths of UI aesthetics.
75%
of participants hesitated to use the bottom navigation dock, highlighting a need for better discoverability and redundant pathways.
Round Two Iteration
Round two of user testing revealed major issues with the calendar, navigation, and dock.
Insights
Design Opportunity
Issue
75% of users hesitated to use the bottom navigation dock.
Hesitation suggests the dock was not recognized as the primary navigation.
Strengthen the dock’s visual hierarchy and clarity to reduce decision friction.
75% of users were confused by the information on the insights page and calendar page.
Users struggled to interpret information without guidance, suggesting the UI requires more mental effort than intended.
Reduce cognitive load by improving visual hierarchy, labeling clarity, and contextual guidance.
Below are changes I made to the dock, based off of user testing:
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Because the dock is grayed out, I believe users thought it was "disabled". This is a button state issue. I changed the visual design of the dock.
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Moved settings from the top right hand corner, to the bottom navigation dock to arrange navigation all in one place.
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Changed section names and icons to improve clarity of function.
Another major change addressed the calendar page:
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Changed the filter on the UI to be easier to notice and use, improving navigation.
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Added the subscriptions for the whole month at the bottom (originally they were for what day the user was on), as this caused confusion.
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Moved the calendar to be on the gradient so the design looks more cohesive.
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Added how many subscriptions users have for the month on the header.
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I also made changes to the Metrics page (originally Insights):
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Changed filters to be more cohesive with the top section, limiting confusion.
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Changed the name to Metrics.
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Added a overview of important metrics about subscriptions.
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Improved visual hierarchy and typography of charts and taking away unnecessary filters, limiting confusion.
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Final Product & Reflection
Success
Introducing the final product, Sublify! Sublify allows users to track their subscriptions more efficiently and effectively by allowing in app subscription cancellation, a dashboard overview of all subscriptions, and tools to allow users to see the value behind what they are paying for every month.
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Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of testing early and separating visual appeal from usability. While participants praised the interface aesthetics, the most valuable insights came from hesitation moments, where cognitive load interrupted flow.
I also learned the value of behavior-driven design: rather than assuming users would find features, I observed patterns and iterated based on actual behavior. For example, multiple participants blamed themselves for not finding notification settings, but recurring hesitation revealed a UI clarity issue that needed to be addressed.
If I were to continue developing Sublify, I would:
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Conduct moderated usability testing to observe behavior in real time.
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Measure task completion times and reminder engagement rates to quantify usability improvements.
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Explore personalization and regional trust features, particularly for German users, to ensure adoption and transparency.
Overall, this project strengthened my ability to translate research into actionable design, balance usability and aesthetics, and prioritize user behavior over assumptions, skills I will carry forward into future UX projects.