Lion Blau
From managed campaigns to self-serve SaaS
Tropee was a no-code loyalty platform for brands running Web3 campaigns. As it evolved from one-off NFT utilities into ongoing programs, creators needed a builder they could configure confidently, and participants needed an experience they could trust. I redesigned both sides into one structured system.
Role: Senior Product Designer — product & system design · 2023 – 2025
2023 – 2025
Role: Senior Product Designer — product & system design
€5M
Seed round
Adidas, NFT Paris, Ledger, G-Star RAW, Sony, OpenSea
Customers & Partnerships
2,403
Programs shipped
+305% task completion
+84% repeat participation
(6 months)
Performance
PRODUCT SHIFT
From NFT Utility to
SaaS Loyalty Platform
Tropee began during the NFT boom as a tool for one-off utility campaigns. As market behavior changed, the product expanded into a broader loyalty platform where brands could run ongoing programs, quests, and rewards for their communities. The design challenge was to translate that business shift into a self-serve system that worked for both creators and participants.
earlier NFT utility builder
new loyalty program builder
CHALLENGEs
Rebuilding the platform while it was running
The redesign didn't happen in calm conditions. The NFT-utility market Tropee was built on was fading, and with investors behind the company, the pivot to loyalty had to move fast — but deliberately, because live programs for brands like Adidas, Sony, and NFT Paris had to keep running while the platform changed underneath them. That constraint shaped everything: the new system had to be introduced without breaking what existing customers had already shipped.
And self-serve raised the stakes on its own — under the managed model, the team was a safety net between a creator's configuration and their audience; removing that layer meant a misconfigured program could go live for a global brand with nobody in between. The builder had to absorb that responsibility by design: previews, safe defaults, and constraints doing the work a human used to do.
UX CHALLENGE
Designing for two connected users
Every creator decision shaped the participant experience. Marketers needed to launch programs without wrestling with Web3 complexity or risking misconfiguration. Participants needed tasks, progress, and rewards to feel clear and trustworthy. The redesign had to simplify setup on one side while making engagement intuitive on the other.
Influence
The builder's direction came from a design call. When Tropee pivoted to loyalty, I moved the product away from its NFT-era look toward the language of mainstream SaaS tools — taking cues from products like Linktree that non-technical marketers already trusted — so creators would orient in seconds instead of decoding a web3 interface. I also drove progressive disclosure as a system rather than a setting: I designed the component library so advanced options stay hidden by default and every step has one clear path, which let the builder carry complex loyalty logic while remaining safe for first-time users. Both calls became the default design language for what the platform shipped afterward.
Creators needed confidence
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make program setup feel familiar, not technical
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reduce risk around rules, schedules, and targeting
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see what members would actually experience before publishing
Participants needed clarity
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understand tasks and rewards at a glance
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track progress across quests and claims
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trust what they were earning and what happened next
Creator experience
Making the builder feel calm, flexible, and safe
The builder had to support powerful loyalty logic without feeling like an operations tool. I used four principles to make setup faster and more reliable for non-technical marketers.
1. Calm, familiar layout
Organized the builder like a standard SaaS tool so marketers could orient quickly.
2. Progressive disclosure & safe settings
Kept advanced settings available, but out of the way until needed.
3. Live participant preview
Showed what members would see, reducing guesswork and setup errors.
4. Templates and presets
Gave teams a faster, safer starting point than a blank canvas.
Four design principles turned a complex setup flow into a more reliable self-serve system.
PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCE
Making participation simple, scannable, and rewarding
On the member side, the goal was clarity. Tasks had to be easy to scan, progress had to stay visible, and claim flows had to feel trustworthy. Just as importantly, the member experience had to reflect what creators configured, so the system stayed coherent end to end.
Scannable tasks (desktop) — Clear hierarchy and grouping made actions easy to understand
Visible progress (mobile) — Points, entries, and completion states stayed in view
Clear claim flow (mobile) —Members knew what they were claiming and what happened next.
Outcomes
The redesign moved Tropee from a fragile setup into a more reliable self-serve system — reflected in both scale and user behavior.
2,400
loyalty programs shipped
Proof of self-serve scale
+305%
task completion
Clearer tasks and reward logic
+84%
repeat participation
Users returned consistently over 6 months
REFLECTION
What this project changed in how I design
Tropee pushed me to think beyond individual screens and design for system behavior — where business model, creator tooling, and participant trust all have to line up.
Design can reshape the business model
UX was not decoration on the pivot; it made recurring engagement operable.
Complex systems must feel simple
Power only matters when non-technical users can act with confidence.
One user’s setup becomes another user’s experience
In two-sided systems, coherence matters more than any single screen.
Flow/ Main creation
