CASE STUDY · LIGHTCERT
Lightcert.
A fan app that turns a crowd’s phones into one synchronized light show. No light sticks required.
Company
Lightcert
Music-tech startup
Platform
iOS app
On the App Store
Scope
Concierge MVP redesign
Q2 release
Timeline
Jan – Jun 2022
Six months
(01)
The short version
What Lightcert is, what I did, and what shipped, in thirty seconds.
01
The brief
Lightcert lets fans turn their phones into synchronized lights at live shows. The Concierge MVP worked, but first-time fans needed a clearer path from download to lights up.
02
What I did
As the product design intern, I revamped the Concierge MVP with product, engineering, marketing and business development, from a heuristic evaluation to an expanded design system.
03
What shipped
Production-ready designs and assets for the Q2 2022 release on the App Store: clearer onboarding, a simpler artist, venue and song flow, and a full-screen light mode.
KEY DECISIONS
01
Ground every step in what fans and the team said
02
Expand the design system so every screen matches
03
Three quick tips, then artist, venue and song
STATUS
Shipped in Lightcert’s Q2 2022 App Store release. Research stays private, so I share an overview.
(02)
Light sticks, without the light sticks
Lightcert orchestrates synchronized light displays across an audience, using the one thing every fan already brings: a smartphone. No extra gear, just a crowd lighting up together in real time, and a new creative channel for artists.
Fans already made their own light shows with tape and flashlights. Lightcert had to make joining one effortless, and give artists a new way to shape the moment.
01
Fans
FOR
Concert-goers and fan-project organizers
THE APP’S JOB
Get from download to lights up in a few taps, without rereading instructions.
02
Artists
FOR
Artists and their creative teams
THE APP’S JOB
Open a new creative channel: color moments timed to the setlist.
03
The crowd
FOR
Everyone in the venue, at once
THE APP’S JOB
Turn thousands of screens into one display, in sync.
(03) The goal
Make a whole stadium
feel like one crowd.
Three goals shaped the redesign: make the app intuitive for fans of all ages, keep fans and artists in sync from the first tap to the last song, and turn a concert into something the whole crowd shares.
Intuitive for every fan
Fans and artists, in sync
Community through shared moments
(04)
Who it’s for
Concert-goers and music fans who want to feel closer to the artists they love, and to each other. Many already organize fan projects at shows, so joining one had to take seconds, not a tutorial.
PERSONA
Sheryl, an enthusiastic Harry Styles fan
Wants to be part of the fan project at every show, without missing the moment while she sets it up.
WHAT THE APP GIVES HER
Her artist, venue and song in a few taps
Instructions she only needs to see once
A full-screen light, right on cue
A way to save and share the moment
(05)
My role
Product design intern on Lightcert’s product team, working across product management, engineering, marketing and business development.
Revamp the Concierge MVP so any fan can join the show, in time for the Q2 release.
— The brief, January 2022
ROLE
Product Design Intern
TEAM
Product management — Scope and priorities
Engineering — Feasibility and handoff
Marketing & business development — Outreach and fan feedback
TOOLS
Figma
01
UX audit
A heuristic evaluation of the Concierge MVP, from the first screen to the light itself.
02
Interface 2.0
The redesigned onboarding, the artist, venue and song flow, and the full-screen light.
03
Design system
New components and styles, plus the production-ready assets engineering built the Q2 release from.
(06)
From MVP to the Q2 release
Due to privacy restrictions I can share an overview only. The work moved through five steps, each grounded in what fans and the team told us.
THE SCREENS
Both interface iterations side by side: the 1.0 flow on top, then the 2.0 onboarding and picks, and the show itself.
01
Heuristic evaluation
Reviewed the Concierge MVP against usability heuristics to find friction in onboarding, navigation and readability.
02
User research insights
Worked with the outreach teams to turn fan surveys and conversations into clear priorities for the release.
03
Feedback-driven iteration
Refined the flow in rounds with fans, the product manager and the founding team, checking each change against what fans said.
04
Design system expansion
Added new components and styles so every new screen stayed consistent with the rest of the app.
05
Production-ready assets
Delivered final screens, specs and assets to engineering for the Q2 release.
A NOTE
Shared as an overview
Lightcert’s research and internal documents stay private, so I share the process at a high level, alongside the screens I designed.
HOW THE FLOW EVOLVED · 1.0 → 2.0
01 · Onboarding
Four tips became three, each with shorter copy, larger type and the same gradient Next button.
02 · Choosing an artist
A plain list became a titled step with a progress mark, and the chosen artist turns white.
03 · Where you are
City and section number became one venue pick, so fans move straight on to the song.
(07)
An expanded design system
I expanded Lightcert’s design system with new components and styles, so every screen, from onboarding to the light itself, speaks the same language.
LIGHTCERT DESIGN SYSTEM · V2.0
A dark, high-contrast system for a phone held up in a crowd, built from midnight, magenta and the colors of the show.
VERSION
2.0 · Q2 2022
PLATFORMS
iOS
TYPEFACES
Raleway · Open Sans
DESIGNED BY
Me, with the product team
Readable in the dark
White type on midnight for anything you need to read. Pink marks only what’s selected or next.
One action per screen
Every step ends in a single gradient pill: Get Started, Continue, Next, Lights Up!
Say it once, clearly
Onboarding covers the three moves, one per screen, then gets out of the way.
The screen is the light
When the show starts, the interface steps aside: one full-screen color and one control.
CORE PALETTE
Midnight
#03030D
Ground · every screen
Plum
#2B061E
Surface · chosen rows
Magenta
#CD106B
Action · gradient start
Pink
#FC53A4
State · selected, subtitles
Grey
#6B6B73
Inactive · list items
White
#FFFFFF
Text · titles, choices
BRAND & SHOW COLORS
BRAND
Brand Purple
#993BD2
App icon, gradient
BRAND
Brand Pink
#FF49A0
App icon, the mark
SHOW
Show Red
#FA1414
Full-screen light
SHOW
Show Blue
#0A91FA
Full-screen light
LOGO & APP ICON
FONT FAMILIES
TITLES — RALEWAY
Raleway
Aa — Medium · venues, subtitles
Aa — SemiBold · titles, names
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%&*()
TEXT — OPEN SANS
Open Sans
Instructions, lists and buttons, in Regular and SemiBold. Plain, friendly and easy to read at arm’s length.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789 !@#$%&*()
TYPE HIERARCHY
Aa
Select Artist
24
Select your artist, venue, and song
18
Take a look around the venue
16
Hold up your phone once the color appears
16
Lights Up!
LIGHT PATTERNS · ACROSS THE CROWD
SECTIONS & PICTURES
FULL-SCREEN LIGHT
SHOW CONTROLS
STOP
PLAY
SAVE
SHARE
BUTTONS
NAVIGATION
In the flow, a pink back chevron and the mark sit up top, with Setlist on the right. Onboarding keeps just the white mark, one idea per screen and three progress dots.
LISTS & SELECTION
ARTIST & SONG
Select Artist
A Raleway title with its progress mark, a plain list, and the chosen artist in white above one Continue.
Setlist
The tour and every song in order, so fans know which moments will light up.
The light
Full-screen color with the song’s name, a close button and one control.
It became the system the Q2 release was built from.
(08)
The app
From opening the app to lights up: three quick tips, then artist, venue and song, and the phone becomes part of the show.
01
Tips you see once
Three short onboarding screens explain the whole show: pick, hold up your phone, look around.
02
Three picks to the show
Artist, venue, then song, each on its own screen with one clear button to move on.
03
The screen becomes the light
A full-screen color with the song’s name and one stop control, then a sheet to save or share the moment.
DESIGNED FOR A DARK ARENA
Legible at arm’s length
Fans use Lightcert standing in a dark, loud venue. Interface 2.0 moved to near-black grounds, large white type and one bright action per screen, so every step reads at a glance.
(09)
In fans’ words
Reviews from the App Store, written by the fans the app was designed for.
APP STORE REVIEW
Absolutely Solid
“I’m going to see Harry on September 29, and I’m so pumped! … We used tape at past concerts, and now we can just use our phone screens — this is golden! …”
— sheryl6734
APP STORE REVIEW
AMAZING!!
“The app is so easy to use, and it’s perfect for fan projects at concerts! Nothing confusing about it; it’s quick to figure out and use!”
— angd03
APP STORE REVIEW
I’m So Excited!!!
“This is my first time going to a Harry Styles concert, and Lightcert feels like the best way for fans to come together and do something special for the artists we love and support.”
— msixelaj
(10)
Where it landed
The redesigned app brought fans and artists closer at live shows. A clearer experience and an expanded design system gave Lightcert a community-centered product for its Q2 release.
Shipped
In Lightcert’s Q2 2022 App Store release
A clearer app
From the 1.0 interface to 2.0
A wider system
An expanded design system for every screen
See Lightcert on the App Store
(11)
Where it could go next
Based on what fans and the team told us, I proposed three directions to deepen engagement after the Q2 release.
THREE SUGGESTIONS
Real-time fan communication
In-app chat and message boards, so fans can plan fan projects and share the moment before, during and after the show.
Custom light displays for artists
Brand elements and personalized sequences, so every artist’s show has a light show of its own.
Event promotions and merch
Offers and merchandise tied to each show, for new revenue and a deeper connection with fans.
(12)
What I’d carry forward
Three things this internship taught me about designing for a live moment.
01
Design for the moment, not the menu
In a dark, loud venue, fans have seconds and one free hand. Every screen had to earn its place between download and lights up.
02
Instructions are part of the product
Feedback showed that onboarding decides whether the show works. Short, one-idea screens did more than any new feature.
03
Grow the system with the product
Expanding the design system while iterating kept new screens consistent and made the Q2 handoff cleaner.
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