How we redesigned Marble Collective's platform to keep users engaged and coming back
Design Lead
4 Designers
6 Weeks
Research, Strategy, Design
Marble Collective is a creative community platform that connects artists, designers, and creative professionals to showcase their work and collaborate on projects. Think of it as LinkedIn meets Behance—but their platform was hemorrhaging users at an alarming rate.
The about page—their key conversion point—was driving users away instead of engaging them
Marble Collective came to us with a crisis: their beautifully designed platform was failing to retain users. The data painted a stark picture—users were excited to join but would abandon the platform within minutes of signing up.
The most critical failure point? The about/profile pages where members showcase their work. These pages took forever to load, were confusing to navigate, and failed to highlight what made each creator unique.
Through 8 usability testing sessions, we discovered featured members wanted to showcase specific project themes, while audiences wanted to quickly find creators by expertise area—but the endless scroll served neither.
Users couldn't understand the site's information architecture. Categories didn't match their mental models, and the lack of visual hierarchy made every page feel like a wall of content.
The outdated visual design wasn't just an aesthetic problem—it made users question the platform's legitimacy and whether their work would be presented professionally.
The client's delayed responses and unclear requirements meant we had to be proactive—creating multiple design options and building in buffer time for iterations we knew would come.
The breakthrough came when we realized the long-scrolling profile wasn't just a usability issue—it was forcing a one-size-fits-all narrative. By organizing content into themed sections, we could let featured members tell multiple stories and help audiences find exactly what they needed.
Loading reports confirmed that breaking content into tabs would reduce initial load time by up to 60%
Analyzed how leading platforms like Behance and Dribbble handle creator profiles and portfolio organization
Interactive prototypes validated that themed navigation helped users find relevant content 3x faster
Clear value proposition with intuitive pathways to explore creators, reducing decision paralysis
Organized creator content into digestible themes, allowing for targeted exploration and faster loading
Restructured information architecture based on user mental models with clear visual hierarchy
Fully responsive layouts ensuring seamless experience across all devices
Comprehensive component library ensuring consistency as the platform grows
Progressive loading and optimized assets for lightning-fast page loads
"We didn't even realize we needed to have it this way. The new design completely transformed how our users interact with the platform."
— Marble Collective Team
Projected Business Impact: With improved page load times and intuitive navigation, we anticipate increased user retention, higher daily active users, and improved conversion rates for premium memberships.