Transforming How Beauty Services Connect with Customers
Bewdy is a platform that connects beauty enthusiasts with local salons and stylists for easy booking and payment.
I designed a "Provider-First" onboarding engine to populate the platform with high-quality salons before the first user even signed up.
FOUNDING STORY
Our client approached us with two main goals in mind: to differentiate the platform from potential competitors in the Nigerian market, and to foster trust within the beauty service community.
THE CHALLENGE
Our team was under extreme pressure to move fast. We were tasked with developing an iPhone and Android application within 4 months.
The combination of this fixed deadline, app store submission time, security testing, and usability testing meant that we had to get the experience right in the first four weeks or risk falling behind schedule.
INSIGHTS
By conducting a thorough analysis of customer needs and market competition, I was able to uncover under-served customer needs and these key insights defined the launch version of the product
SETTING THE DESIGN DIRECTION
Through collaborative sketching with the client, we were able to refine and solidify the high-level design language, interactions, and app anatomy.
THE SOLUTION
Existing platforms fell short of what the Nigerian market needed, creating room for a new solution that blends Treatwell’s simplicity with Fresha’s flexibility.
PROGRESSIVE ONBOARDING
Salons are busy. A long setup form kills conversion.
To mitigate this, We replaced the "All-in-One" form with Progressive Profiling. By asking for the bare minimum to go live (Name + Location) and gamifying the rest (Add Photos to reach 100%), we drastically increased the Profile Completion Rate.
ESTABLISHING TRUST
The new onboarding guides providers to share their personal and business details so they can show credibility and attract more customers.
REDUCING "TIME TO DECISION
We built a Dynamic Filtering Engine (Location, Price, Service Type). This aligned the user's intent with the inventory, shortening the path from "Open App" to "Confirmed Booking."
PERSONALISED BEAUTY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
The app’s main screen gives instant access to key features, letting users filter services by location, type, ratings, and time. It stores preferences and history to suggest tailored bookings. Detailed profiles with beauty preferences, skin type, and allergies enable truly personalized recommendations.
IMPACT
By replacing manual spreadsheets with a Centralized Digital Infrastructure, we unlocked the operational capacity needed for Edfin to scale its loan book safely.
Day-1 Market Validation
We launched with 201+ Active Users on Day 1, validating our "Mobile-First" strategy for the Nigerian market.
100% Mobile Uptime
Despite the 4-month "crunch time" deadline, we shipped a stable MVP for both iOS and Android, ensuring zero critical crashes during the launch window.
High Supply Density
Our "Progressive Onboarding" strategy ensured that every user who signed up on Day 1 found at least 3 relevant salons in their vicinity (Supply Density).
OUTCOME & LEARNINGS
Reflecting on my experience, this was my first attempt at designing for the beauty service industry and during this process, I gained a wealth of knowledge through interaction with my colleagues and the product itself. I am quite pleased with the outcome of our efforts and its potential influence on the beauty service sector in Nigeria.
