Group Gifting App – UX Copy and Journey Review
A smarter way to handle group gifting — so every celebration feels easy, thoughtful and stress-free.
Project overview
A former product owner at adidas reached out for help with a personal side project — an exciting MVP for a group gifting app. The goal? To streamline the often chaotic process of collecting money, organising gifts, and making group celebrations easier and more joyful.
The app was designed to simplify group gifting in settings like offices, sports teams, or friendship groups. One person would organise the gift, and the app would handle everything else — from collecting contributions to ordering and sending the gift. No more “Who paid what?” or “What should we get them?” WhatsApp threads.
I was brought in to review and shape the customer journeys and UX content across key app screens — ensuring the flow felt intuitive, the messaging was clear, and the tone hit the right emotional notes.
The challenges
Communicate the app’s value quickly: Explain the group gifting concept to organisers without overloading them
Guide users through a multi-step flow: Keep the journey clear and seamless across minimal screens
Clarify the money collection process: Reassure users around transparency, security and ease
Balance celebration with clarity: Decide when and how to introduce “congratulations” moments without interrupting flow
Design for edge cases: Write error and fallback states for moments like failed payments or declined invites
Shape the recipient experience: Create warm, thoughtful messaging for the person receiving the gift
The solutions
Tone and hierarchy: Refined screen-level messaging to quickly establish value, build trust and reduce cognitive load
Microcopy with momentum: Used progressive disclosure and tight button/CTA language to guide users step-by-step without overwhelming them
Minimalism with purpose: Simplified flows by reducing content where it added friction — prioritising clarity over cleverness
Scalable patterns: Created reusable content templates for confirmation, error, and success states that could flex as the product evolved
Recipient-first language: Designed a soft, celebratory tone for gift recipients that felt personal and on-brand — even in MVP stage
Learnings
Deletion is as important as creation. Throughout the design process, I removed as much copy as I wrote. The real challenge was simplifying complex steps into the most minimal and economical version of themselves — without sacrificing clarity or warmth.
This project reinforced a key principle of content design: we’re not just writers, we’re designers. The words we choose shape the experience as much as the interface does. Content isn’t decoration — it’s integral to how people move through and understand a product. Being a good writer helps, but being a thoughtful designer is what makes content work.
