I'm working hard to make this case study responsive for smaller screens right now! Hang in tight :)
In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me below:
I'm working hard to make this case study responsive for smaller screens right now! Hang in tight :)
In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me below:
Building meaningful connections outside of moments of crisis
Autumn is a comprehensive end-of-life marketplace supporting individuals through bereavement. Their challenge: users typically only need these services once, during life's most sensitive moments. As Lead Product Designer, I created a knowledge hub that transforms this low-frequency service into an ongoing resource, building trust and engagement before the user's moment of need.
Timeline
Jun - Aug 2024
Role
Product Designer
Team
1 founder
1 product designer
2 product managers
2 developers
skills
Product design
User research
Prototyping
context
Autumn is an end-of-life marketplace that supports individuals through the full bereavement process.
While most solutions focus on single services like funeral homes or legal support, Autumn serves as a central hub connecting people with providers, resources, and support when they need it most.
Problem
End-of-life services face a unique challenge: users only need them once, during life's most sensitive moments
Unlike high-frequency marketplaces such as Uber or DoorDash where users engage daily, or even mid-frequency platforms like Airbnb with monthly or quarterly interactions, end-of-life services present a distinct challenge: users typically only need these services once, during one of life’s most sensitive moments. This creates several key challenges:
Low-Frequency Marketplace Challenges
1
Limited opportunities to build relationships with potential users
2
Difficulty building brand awareness and trust before the moment of need
3
Reduced data collection opportunities for product iteration
4
Traditional user retention metrics don’t apply
This understanding led us to question:
How might we create meaningful connections with users outside of direct service needs?
Solution
The Autumn Knowledge Hub: An educational platform that transforms end-of-life planning from one crisis moment into an ongoing resource
Impact
19%
increase in site clicks
12%
conversion to the main product
10/12
users felt inclined to revisit Autumn in the future for bereavement needs
Research
⚠️ As an early-stage startup, Autumn faced several constraints, such as:
Limited access to direct users
Time constraints of a 12-week project timeline
No existing user base to draw from
Sensitivity of the subject matter making cold outreach challenging
Given these limitations, we shifted our research focus to conducting extensive competitive analysis on existing low- and mid-frequency marketplaces such as Zillow and LinkedIn.
I began by mapping successful marketplaces across the frequency spectrum to understand their different engagement models.
Below are some examples of low and mid frequency companies whose strategies were most relevant to Autumn’s challenges.
Low frequecy
Mid frequency
High frequency
Zillow
Core product: Home buying marketplace
Sporadic usage (every few years)
Auxiliary tools:
Zestimates: Property value estimation tool
Zillow Research: Learning platform for market trends, educational content, buying guides, etc.
Monthly usage
Core product: Professional profile and networking platform
Monthly usage
Auxiliary tools:
Content platform: Industry articles, discussions, professional content sharing
LinkedIn Courses: Career and professional development courses
Daily usage
Uber
Core product: Ride-hailing service
Daily usage
Our market analysis revealed a clear pattern:
Successful low-frequency marketplaces often create auxiliary content or tools that provide value outside their core transactions
Strategy
We wanted to shift from one single crisis-point to several touchpoints throughout the bereavement planning journey.
This approach better prepares users ahead of the time of crisis when they have just experienced a death, and creates more opportunities for organic discovery and trust-building.
Design
With the core product strategy established, I began iterating on designs.
Each design decision needed to serve Autumn’s primary goal: driving traffic while facilitating seamless connections between users and providers. Below are some key highlights of my design journey.
Design Highlight #1
Integrating Autumn’s providers onto an article
Within each article of the knowledge hub, we needed a way to connect readers with the main product - Autumn’s main service providers. Initially, we used a simple button at the bottom of articles that led to the providers page. However, this generic approach buried the most valuable part of Autumn’s platform—the actual providers—behind an extra click. Click-through rates on these sections were extremely low.
Initial design for provider integration on Autumn’s articles
PROBLEM: Users have to navigate to a separate provider page after reading articles, creating unnecessary friction in the user journey.
SOLUTION: I transformed these basic CTAs into provider preview cards that showcase available professionals, directly integrated within the article content. This change made the providers discoverable, and created a more natural path to Autumn’s main product.
Revamped provider section on Autumn’s articles
This revamped section included:
Embedded relevant provider profiles directly within articles
Created contextual recommendations (e.g., showing estate lawyers in legal planning articles)
Added direct contact options within the content
This change made the providers discoverable, and created a more natural path to Autumn’s main product.
Design Highlight #2
Designing a platform that SCALES 📈 for the future
PROBLEM: The final knowledge hub design was too complex for launch, when Autumn had limited content and restricted services to New York users. With only a handful of articles posted, the final knowledge hub design would feel empty and bloated at launch, with unnecessary features such as the location filter and category pages.
With only a handful of articles posted, the final knowledge hub design would feel empty and bloated at launch, with unnecessary features such as the location filter and category pages.
SOLUTION: Autumn needed to launch quickly for New York users while building a foundation that could scale nationally. I split the knowledge hub design into several phases that could be introduced gradually as the platform grew.
Phase 1: Core functionalities (launch)
All content streamlined into one landing page. A bare bones site, suitable for minimal content.
Phase 2: more features (scale)
Expanded landing page to accommodate for different categories, introduced individual category pages and location filters
It's done! What's next?
Although my summer at Autumn (no pun intended) has ended, I'm excited to see where they go next! My designs have been shipped, and are currently under development 🎉
Reflections
Ruthless prioritization > doing it all
One key insight I learned from Daniel Shaw, Autumn's founder: In an early-stage startup, there are a million and one things to work on, improve, and fix at all times. I learned that progress in this environment comes from putting on "blinders" to everything except one priority, and channeling all efforts into that strategic focus.
Balance quick wins with long-term foundations
Working on a time-boxed project taught me that on top of knowing what to build, I had to focus on WHEN to built it. I learned to map my designs on a timeline to determine what needs to exist now, what can wait, and what foundations need to be laid today for tomorrow’s success.
Don’t wait for perfect data - use what you have
Without access to traditional user research, I studied successful low-frequency marketplaces like Zillow instead. I discovered that good design insights often come from connecting existing dots in creative ways.
The end! Discover more...
I'm working hard to make this case study responsive for smaller screens right now! Hang in tight :)
In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me below:
I'm working hard to make this case study responsive for smaller screens right now! Hang in tight :)
In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me below: