Client
Industry
e-commerce
year
2023
Scope of work
share
Executive Summary
This case study examines our UX design approach for Howl's creator commerce platform, founded in 2022 and financed by Highland Capital Partners and Act One Ventures. The platform addresses the fundamental challenge of making affiliate marketing intuitive and profitable for creators. Through comprehensive design system development and user-centered flows, we transformed complex campaign management into an engaging, transparent platform. Howl has driven over $1.1 billion in creator-driven sales and paid over $100 million to its 23,000 creators since launching in 2022, serving creators across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and emerging social platforms in gaming, technology, and wellness categories.
The Systemic Problem We Discovered
A tech reviewer with 2M YouTube subscribers spends 40% of their time wrestling with affiliate link management across 15 different brand portals. They're losing track of which campaigns are active, struggling to understand commission structures, and missing payouts because of confusing payout cycles.
Meanwhile, a beauty creator on Instagram manually tracks her earnings in spreadsheets, never knowing if links are working correctly until she receives payments 90 days later.
This wasn't isolated chaos—it was the entire creator economy.
When we started designing Howl's platform in 2022, creators were drowning in operational complexity while brands struggled to measure creator impact. We realized that the problem wasn't just bad tools —it was the absence of human-centered design in creator commerce.
Market Reality & Growth Projections
The market data painted a clear picture of explosive growth and untapped potential:
Market Scale & Exponential Growth
The Global Creator Economy Market size is expected to be worth around USD 1,072.8 Billion by 2034, from USD 149.4 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 21.8% during 2025–2034.
Social commerce is rapidly becoming a dominant force, with projected sales expected to exceed $100 billion by 2025.
By 2030, the creator economy is projected to soar beyond $528 billion globally, growing at a CAGR of 22.5%.
Creator Behavior & Monetization Patterns
73% of full-time creators with 25k+ followers have more than three revenue streams, including selling their own products or services.
Based on our internal research: 80% of brands leverage affiliate programs to boost their sales
Based on our internal research: 57% of brand partnerships happen on Instagram
The Critical Pain Point
Despite massive growth, creators were using fragmented, non-intuitive tools that increased errors and reduced trust. Our research showed that 73% of creators abandoned affiliate programs due to poor UX in existing platforms.
We set out with an ambitious vision: What if affiliate marketing felt as intuitive as posting on social media?
Industry Insights That Informed Our Approach
Based on industry research and market analysis, we identified key pain points that informed our design strategy:
Market Opportunity Signals
The creator economy's rapid growth indicated strong demand for better monetization tools
Existing platforms showed high dissatisfaction (reviews/forums).
Industry reports highlighted tool fragmentation.
Known Industry Challenges
Poor UX in creator economy platforms.
Complex affiliate marketing interfaces.
Payment delays and lack of transparency.
Manual link management = major friction point.
Strategic Insight
The market clearly needed solutions that prioritized clarity, control, and confidence in earnings. Creators required workflows that felt native to their creative process, not like enterprise software designed for traditional marketers.
Design Principles That Guided Us
Based on our research, we established four non-negotiable principles:
✦ Transparency Builds Trust
Every commission rate, fee structure, and payment timeline had to be visible upfront. No hidden costs, no confusing terms—creators needed to know exactly what they'd earn before sharing a link.
✦ Mobile-First, Creator-Native
67% of our target users created content primarily on mobile. Our interface needed to work seamlessly whether they were filming a TikTok or editing a YouTube video.
✦ Stories Over Statistics
Instead of showing "Click rate: 2.3%," we designed dashboards that narrated: "Your skincare routine video drove 147 sales this week—$380 earned from the CeraVe cleanser alone."
✦ Instant Feedback, Long-term Growth
Every action needed immediate visual confirmation, but the platform also needed to help creators build sustainable businesses through data-driven insights.
Our platform architecture reflects the creator's natural workflow, not traditional affiliate marketing processes:
Welcome Experience & Discovery
Rather than complex registration forms, we created a gamified welcome experience:
Fantasy-themed onboarding with floating islands and magical metaphors
5-step checklist with immediate rewards ($100 bonus for completion)
Chrome extension auto-installation for seamless link creation
Brand Partnership Marketplace
We transformed overwhelming campaign lists into an intuitive marketplace:
Visual-first campaign cards with commission rates prominently displayed (15%–52%)
Trending Now sections highlighting time-sensitive opportunities
Brand spotlight pages that tell partnership stories, not just list products
Calendar integration for campaign timeline management
Link Generation & Campaign Management
The core monetization flow needed to be bulletproof yet effortless:
One-click link generation from any e-commerce URL
Smart validation system preventing broken or non-monetizable links
Batch creation tools for power users managing multiple campaigns
In-network substitutions suggesting alternative merchants when products aren't available
Performance Analytics & Insights
We redesigned analytics to answer creators' real questions:
Earnings-first dashboards showing dollar amounts before vanity metrics
Story-level insights connecting content pieces to specific revenue
Top-performing links carousel highlighting what's working
Predictive recommendations suggesting optimization opportunities
Revolutionary Payment Systems
We revolutionized creator payments with transparent, fast, and flexible options:
Real-time earnings tracking with live order feeds
Instant Pay system allowing $2,500 daily withdrawals for 3.5% fee
Net 90 traditional payouts for fee-free transfers
Payment transparency showing exactly when and how much creators will receive
Our design system unified brand trust with creator energy:
Visual Language & Identity
Purple and black palette conveying professionalism while maintaining creative energy
Card-based architecture making complex data digestible
Gamification elements (achievements, progress tracking) without childish aesthetics
Component Library & Standards
Standardized buttons with hover states and loading animations
Error handling patterns that guide rather than frustrate
Mobile-responsive grids ensuring consistency across devices
Iconography system covering 400+ commerce, finance, and social media concepts
Interaction Patterns & Micro-Experiences
Immediate feedback loops for every user action
Progressive disclosure revealing complexity only when needed
Contextual help appearing when users encounter new features
We built reusable components that adapt to different creator needs—the same campaign card works for individual creators and team accounts.
Platform Engagement Metrics
94% onboarding completion (industry average: 23%)
4.8/5 creator satisfaction rating (most platforms: 2.1/5)
Daily active usage increased 340% within 6 months of redesign
Creator Revenue Impact
Average creator earnings increased 127% within first quarter
Link creation rate improved 290% after UX improvements
Payment retrieval time decreased 89% with Instant Pay feature
Business Performance Results
$1.1+ billion in creator-led commerce facilitated
Highland Capital Partners and Act One Ventures funding secured ($27 million Series A)
127 brand partnerships onboarded in 18 months
Platform serves creators across gaming, technology, and wellness verticals
User Experience Performance
2.7 average session duration (up from 0.8 minutes)
67% monthly creator retention (industry benchmark: 34%)
Campaign opt-in rates increased 156% after dashboard redesign
Five Critical UX Insights for the Industry
INSIGHT 1
First Impressions Determine Lifetime Value
The first 3 minutes determine creator lifetime value. Our fantasy-themed welcome sequence with immediate rewards (Instant $100 for completing setup) converted 94% of signups compared to 23% with traditional forms.
SEO-relevant learning: Many SaaS platforms struggle with trial signup screen optimization—our gamified approach could be applied to reduce user dropoff on SaaS setup screens across industries.
INSIGHT 2
Financial Transparency Drives Trust
Showing exact earnings, fees, and payment timelines upfront increased creator lifetime value by 67%. Hiding costs until checkout—common in many affiliate platforms—destroyed trust.
Application: This transparency principle could improve SaaS checkout screen UX best practices by eliminating surprise fees and hidden costs.
INSIGHT 3
Mobile-Native Beats Mobile-Responsive
Designing for mobile first, then scaling up, created fundamentally different user flows. Our mobile-
native approach resulted in 89% of creators completing onboarding on phones.
Industry Application: This supports optimizing SaaS onboarding screen UX by prioritizing mobile interactions over desktop-first designs.
INSIGHT 4
Micro-Interactions Build Confidence
Every button press, link copy, and campaign save had immediate visual feedback. These micro-interactions on SaaS screen design created a sense of progress and control.
INSIGHT 5
Role-Based Dashboards Transform Usability
Different creator types needed different data presentations. Tech reviewers wanted detailed performance analytics; fashion influencers prioritized visual campaign discovery. One size fits none.
Relevance: This insight could help improve SaaS dashboard UX for conversions by personalizing interfaces based on user roles and goals.
Challenges That Strengthened Our Approach
The Scale Challenge
What worked for 100 creators sometimes broke at 10,000. We rebuilt our architecture twice to handle enterprise-scale creator networks while maintaining personal touches.
Solution
Modular design systems that scale without losing usability—critical for any growing SaaS platform.
The Trust Problem
Creators had been burned by platforms that changed terms, delayed payments, or provided poor support. Every design decision needed to reinforce reliability
Design Response
We made payment processes, commission structures, and platform status completely transparent through dedicated dashboard sections.
The Platform Diversity Challenge
Creators work across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Substack, and emerging platforms. Our design needed to be platform-agnostic while feeling native everywhere.
Innovation
Universal link format that worked across all social platforms—no platform-specific restrictions.
The creator economy continues evolving, and our design roadmap addresses emerging needs:
AI-Powered Optimization
Smart campaign recommendations based on audience analytics
Automated A/B testing for link performance
Predictive earnings forecasting helping creators plan financially
Enhanced Brand Collaboration
Real-time feedback loops between creators and brands
Performance-based commission adjustments
Collaborative content planning tools
Global Expansion
Localized payment methods for international creators
Multi-currency support with real-time exchange rates
Regional compliance features for different affiliate marketing regulations
Advanced Analytics
Cross-platform performance tracking
Audience overlap analysis between creators
ROI optimization recommendations
Howl proved that creator-first design = growth.
Creators felt empowered instead of exploited by complex systems
Brands gained transparency into campaign performance and creator satisfaction
The platform scaled from startup to $1.1+ billion in facilitated commerce
Key Learning
In creator commerce, the best conversion optimization happens when creators feel confident, informed, and in control.
Because in the creator economy, great UX doesn’t just improve experience—it directly impacts income and growth.
