Grandstage Redesign

The Situation

When I joined Grandstage, churn was out of control at nearly 80%. The original product targeted solo content creators with tech backgrounds producing TikTok content. But user feedback revealed something unexpected—most users were professionals at mid-sized B2B companies, leveraging the platform to track market trends.

My challenge: redesign the product for a completely different persona—a professional aiming to build thought leadership content on LinkedIn—and deliver a desktop version that aligned with their needs.

The Result

We grew MRR by 53% and raised retention to 100%!

Yes, a design change completely turned the business around.

Aesthetic Change

Before touching the design, I dove into UI research, focusing on tools used by professionals like ClickUp, Asana, and Slack. The key insight: minimalism and intuitive features resonate with this audience.

The existing mobile design was polished but out of sync with professional desktop tools. I needed a design system that maintained simplicity while supporting powerful functionality.

Investing in a Design System

Off-the-shelf design systems like Untitled UI were too complex for our needs—they were feature-rich but slowed down development. With tight deadlines, we decided to build a custom design system from scratch.


We broke down the core elements we needed—buttons, dropdowns, tooltips—and built a lean, scalable system that became our secret weapon. This new system cut our design timeline in half and dramatically sped up iteration cycles.

The New Content Card: A Game-Changer

The content card became the centerpiece of user interaction. It had to offer a quick-scanning experience while delivering rich information at a glance.


Instead of sticking to direct competitors, I explored design patterns from unrelated industries known for handling dense information—apps that excel at presenting data without overwhelming users. This broader perspective helped shape a design that was both highly functional and easy to navigate.


Anchored in the Product Requirement Document (PRD), I iterated until the card was optimized for clarity and speed. This research reinforced an important principle: great design is universal—often, the best ideas come from outside your industry.

Key Takeaways

Look beyond competitors for inspiration.

The best designs often borrow from unexpected places.

Design systems are worth the investment

A custom system supercharged our process and reduced complexity.

Communication is everything in Lean UX

Working directly with developers taught me that early communication is essential for creating scalable, feasible designs.

Final Design

© 2023 Eddie Farfan's UX Design Portfolio