Skillshare is an online learning platform for creatives that offers video lessons and operates on a freemium business model. After launching the Badges MVP in 2022, the company sought to introduce additional gamification levers to build upon the existing technical foundation. Leveraging insights from the previous launch and focusing on identifying meaningful moments for users, this project significantly boosted key engagement metrics. Project submission increased by 89%.
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study.
Design lead — research, product strategy, MVP UX/UI design across the platforms (web, mobile app) to launch
Matt Niemitz, Product Manager
Emily Frouine, Engineering Lead
Anna Buchsbaum, Data
Lauren Moreno, Brand
0 to 1 feature launch
3 months from kick off to launch (March 2023)
Figma
Miro
Google slides
Skillshare is a learning platform for creatives, and many competitors already provide certificates as a tangible outcome of learning. Naturally, both members and internal stakeholders expressed interest in certificates as a desired feature, but there was no clear strategy, and opinions varied on what certificates should be. There was a need to align on the definition of what certificates are, how they can deliver value to users and the business, and what the most efficient way to build and test them would be.
Badges encouraged a breadth of behaviors, such as watching a lesson, saving a class, and following a teacher, but they did not motivate users to complete more classes or submit projects. This signaled that the feature failed to drive deeper engagement with learning.
Significant portion of members become dormant during the free trial, and during the paid subscription. The company needed another reward tactic to increase the retention rate. Additionally, the marketing potential of shared certificates was highlighted, with the hope of driving organic growth.
In order to position Skillshare Certificate better compared to other educational platform, we charted the the perceived value and effort of certificates awarded by 11 different brands. What we learned is that certificates often come in different levels within the same brand, and for professional value, it requires more effort like assignments and grading.
Internal team had different opinions on this question. Is it completing a class? Is it completing a multiple classes, a.k.a learning path? Is it submitting a project? From looking at what students organically share on popular social media platforms, we learned that they love to share the outcome of learning, a class project. It was a sign of personal achievement and tangible proof of skill they earned, which align perfectly with what certificates should be.
In order to make a critical decision, we had to present a clear framework of what perspectives were considered. We wanted to identify what are the possible behavior for rewarding certificates, and evaluated if it is action that drive high user value, action that drive business growth, action that enough members actually do.
From there, we identified two contenders, compared the pros and cons with the stakeholders and leadership, and successfully convinced and aligned on what behavior we should reward the Skillshare's first ever certificate: Complete a class and submit a project.
For successful gamification, hooks and progress tracking are essential to keep users motivated throughout their learning journey. We placed the progress module at the end of the lesson plan to communicate that users will receive a certificate upon completing all the lessons, earning checkmarks for each, and submitting a project. With clear CTAs at every stage, we guided users to easily identify the next step. Additionally, we ensured that the old and new progression signals work seamlessly together (e.g., organic watching vs. moving the video bar) to eliminate any confusion about which actions are counted and which are not.
Moments of celebration are crucial in gamification. We wanted to make them delightful without interrupting the user’s learning flow. With the previous badge system, it was inevitable for a single moment to trigger multiple rewards. On mobile, dismissing notifications is easier, so we aimed for bigger celebrations. On the web, we implemented stacked toasts that automatically disappear after 8 seconds. I created a prototype to help the team fine-tune the timing and clearly understand the micro-animation.
Sharing the certificate is an exciting moment for users to showcase their personal achievements, and it also presents a valuable opportunity for the company by creating an organic channel for new user acquisition. We ensured that sharing is seamless across top social media platforms. When a new user clicks on the shared link, it not only displays the certificate but also highlights the class the user completed and the project they submitted, aiming to inspire the new user with a fresh learning opportunity.
I created a creative brief for the brand team and illustrator to ensure we shared the same goals and understood the positioning of the certificates. We hired the same illustrator, Kevin Moran—Skillshare's top teacher who designed the Skillshare badges—to maintain a consistent look and feel. I provided the specifications and mockups to the brand team and gave feedback on internationalization and technical constraints while fully trusting their decisions regarding the design's look and feel.
This feature was set to launch across all platforms (web, mobile web, iOS, and Android), so there were technical constraints, such as auditing and avoiding overlap between the existing alert system and the new rewards system, as well as differing rewards approaches for web and mobile apps due to varying user contexts. Given this complexity, I shared the design in its early stages to avoid surprises during visual QA. For minor tweaks, I ensured the engineers had visual references, making it easier to stay aligned.
At the start of this project, I dove into gamification research, uncovering a simple but crucial insight: the success of gamification lies in prioritizing user needs over business goals. It's tempting to focus on company-driven objectives, like showcasing newly launched features or focusing on misaligned KPIs. Instead, we leaned into creating meaningful moments for users—a strategy that generated impactful results for both the users and the business.
By elevating the key user behavior of project submissions, we uncovered hidden challenges, such as project privacy concerns and issues with unnamed or incomplete submissions. Addressing these previously overlooked areas became a priority, ultimately enhancing the experience for both students and teachers. This project not only drove measurable engagement but also fostered sustainable improvements in critical, high-impact areas.
