A unique solution for physical gift cards.
Role
Senior Product Designer
Company
Gift Card Exchange
Platform
Web & Mobile
Date
June 2023
OVERVIEW
Expanding beyond digital-only gifting
Gift Card Exchange (GCX) was a digital-only platform — fast and convenient, but missing something important. Customers wanted a more personal, tangible way to give gift cards for birthdays, weddings, and special occasions.
THE CHALLENGE
Digital-only gifting was leaving demand on the table
GCX users wanted to gift in person and personalise for occasions — but the platform had no physical option. The risk: overcomplicating the simple digital flow users already trusted, or shipping pre-activated cards that skipped recipient onboarding entirely.
WHAT I DID
What I owned
End-to-end experience strategy and design — research through high-fidelity UI, journey mapping, PDF template design, and dev handoff.
What I delivered
Print-at-home physical gift cards with occasion-themed PDF templates
QR code activation flow that onboarded recipients into the GCX digital wallet
Unified purchase flow with clear delivery choices: Digital or Physical
Personalisation tools — custom messages, logo upload, and safe-area template constraints
Charity bulk-gifting mode with optional pre-activation for recipients without phone access
IMPACT
Results within the first month
+33%
Increase in total sales within the first month
98%
Of physical cards activated within 24 hours
20%
Increase in total sales within the first month
65%
Wanted in-person gifting (research)
KEY INSIGHT
The QR code approach wasn’t just a technical decision — it was a growth decision. Every physical gift card became an acquisition opportunity, routing recipients into the GCX wallet instead of bypassing the platform.
HOW
Process in brief
Hotjar surveys validated demand — 65% wanted in-person gifting, 85% wanted occasion pairing
Rejected pre-activated cards in favour of QR-led recipient onboarding
Mapped digital and physical purchase flows without touching the core digital path
Designed sender flow, PDF templates, activation screen, and charity edge case
TAKEAWAY
Protect what already works
Physical gifting shipped because it was additive, not a rewrite. Research gave permission to add complexity; smart constraints — QR activation, safe-area templates, optional pre-activation for charities — kept the existing digital flow intact.