Redesigning onboarding to connect people with the support they need in recovery

As Marigold Health grew, we discovered that most new members weren't returning after registration. The onboarding experience relied heavily on in-person support and failed to clearly communicate next steps or value, leaving members feeling lost and unmotivated to engage.

I led an onboarding redesign to create a self-directed, supportive experience that guided members toward high-impact actions linked to long-term retention. Working closely with Product, Clinical, and our Outreach team, we reduced early friction and helped members understand what to expect and why it mattered.

Team: Senior Product Designer (me), Head of Product, 8 Engineers

Tools Used: Figma, Jira, Confluence, Google Forms, Mixpanel, AI-assisted design and ideation tools (ChatGPT, Recraft)

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

Key Outcomes:

+90% increase in member NPS score
+40% improvement in community engagement
+81% initial clinical assessment completion

Note: The below case study is a curated overview of the work that can be shared publicly.
Additional research and process details are covered by NDA and available to discuss live.

🚧 Challenge

The existing onboarding experience created barriers that prevented members from engaging with the support they needed. Most new members didn't return after registration because the flow was unclear, overwhelming, and failed to communicate next steps or value. Onboarding relied heavily on in-person hand-holding, which didn't translate to sustained engagement once members were on their own. This also limited out ability to scale away from in-person registration.

"I signed up but had no idea what I was supposed to do next." —New member feedback

🎯 Goals

To address these challenges, I aimed to redesign onboarding to be more supportive and self-directed. This involved creating an experience that felt encouraging rather than overwhelming, helping members understand the value of the platform and what to expect, and guiding members toward three key actions linked to retention:

Completing a BARC-10 clinical assessment
Scheduling a Peer Coaching session
Posting in the community

💡 Solution

Through stakeholder workshops, secondary research, AI-assisted iterative design, and close collaboration with Product, Clinical, and Outreach teams, I redesigned onboarding to emphasize clarity and guidance.

The new experience uses progressive disclosure, encouraging messaging, and contextual nudges to guide members toward high-impact actions. As part of this work, I also evolved the design system and brand identity, improving accessibility and visual aesthetics to better connect with our target population.

The work was delivered across multiple sprints in partnership with engineering, with ongoing iteration based on real-world feedback. As a result, we saw improvements across 2 of our 3 key retention behaviors, a significant increase in member satisfaction, and positive qualitative feedback from our outreach team members who observed new members during registration.

Designs Highlights

IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE

Registration that feels easy, trustworthy, and perhaps even a little bit fun

I redesigned the registration flow to address key friction points such as motivation identification, username creation, consent, and insurance validation, resulting in overwhelmingly positive qualitative feedback from our Outreach Team, and contributing to a 90% increase in member NPS.

I also introduced a warmer visual language through updated font, colors, imagery, and selective use of emojis to create a more approachable, fun experience.

NEW GUIDED TOUR

Making a new app feel less overwhelming and more welcoming

I introduced a guided tour for new members that spotlighted key features to provide supportive wayfinding and set clear expectations early in the experience.

The tour intentionally ended on the To-Do screen, helping members understand what to do next and contributing to increased follow-through on key early actions (e.g. +81% BARC-10 completion), rather than the previous experience of being dropped into the community without direction.

NEW SCHEDULING FLOW

Building trust before the first session

Previously, our registration took members directly from insurance validation into appointment scheduling, with zero context about what Peer Recovery Coaching was or who they would be meeting with.

I redesigned this flow to clearly explain peer support and introduce members to their assigned Peer Recovery Coach. By making the experience more personal, transparent, and low-pressure, members felt more confident taking the next step, contributing to a 32% increase in first-time 1:1 session scheduling.

📈 Early Results (3 Months Post-Launch)

+81%

Members completed BARC-10's in the first day

+32%

Scheduled 1:1 sessions with a Peer Recovery Coach during onboarding

40%

Members using the new username generator

100%

Positive feedback from our member-facing team members

Since members are often enrolled in person by Marigold’s Outreach team, we were able to gather immediate, real-time feedback as our team observed members moving through the updated registration flow.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with consistent reports that the new experience was faster, clearer, and significantly reduced friction during enrollment. Member Team members also observed a noticeable reduction in drop-off and frustration compared to the previous experience.

“I think it's so much better. It's faster. It definitely helps with the people that want to sign up but also don't really want to be held up too long...” — Outreach Team Member

“The previous flow was too long and not as user-friendly… Members would give up and say things like, ‘Never mind, I don't have time for this,’ maybe ~70% of the time I was in the field, BUT during the last few months in the field with the new version I've seen a dramatic improvement.”
— Account Manager

Our team members also provided invaluable feedback for additional improvements, which allowed us to quickly iterate to solve lingering pain points (e.g. adding a name confirmation step to avoid accidental typos that could lead to issues with insurance verification).

💭 Reflections

This project reinforced how critical onboarding is. It's not a form to complete; it's the first impression that sets expectations for everything that follows.

As one of my first major projects at Marigold, it helped me understand the company's dynamics and constraints. When unclear brand direction threatened to stall progress, I quickly aligned stakeholders, defined a practical visual approach, and broke the work into shippable phases. Learning to navigate this environment early made subsequent projects move much faster.

I also established a research approach that worked within our constraints. Traditional user research wasn't feasible with our vulnerable population, so I partnered with our Outreach team who directly observed registrations in the field. Their frontline insights became an invaluable ongoing research channel.

“Meira brings deep thoughtfulness and empathy to every design. She sweats the details, asks the right questions, and always keeps the end user in mind.

Beyond her design craft, Meira made a meaningful impact across the company. She collaborated across functions, shaped the language and tone of our product, influenced culture, and consistently went above and beyond her role."

Manager, Head of Product, Marigold Health