{title} — Jim Foster

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Overview

Research

Design

Impact

Harvest Exchange

Redesigning a Commodity Trading Platform for Scale

Role:

Lead Product Designer

Team size:

6 people

Timeline:

8 months

Core tools:

Figma, Maze, Mixpanel

Overview

The problem

Traders relied on phone calls and in-person deals with no price transparency and no way to verify who they were dealing with. Deals took 3–5 days to close.

The solution

A two-sided marketplace giving buyers and sellers one place to post, negotiate, and transact — with verified profiles, SMS fallback for low-connectivity areas, and a low-literacy-friendly interface.

Key outcomes

38%

Less time on documentation per shift at Medflow

62%

Fewer IT support tickets in the 3 months post-launch

4.6/5

Staff satisfaction score after rollout

38%

Less time on documentation per shift at Medflow

62%

Fewer IT support tickets in the 3 months post-launch

4.6/5

Staff satisfaction score after rollout

Research & discovery

Understanding the problem space

We ran field research across three markets interviewing 42 traders, logistics operators, and commodity brokers. The biggest insight: trust was the primary barrier, not technology adoption. Traders didn't need more features; they needed to feel safe.

Research session notes and affinity mapping from field research

User interviews

Key findings

We uncovered 22 major drop-off points in the onboarding funnel. The primary insights: users abandoned registration due to excessive documentation, perceived security flaws, and a lack of clear feedback during the KYC verification process.

Trust over features

Traders didn't abandon platforms because of missing analytics—they left because the verification interface felt unsecure and lacked transparent security badges.

Verification drop-off

The multi-step onboarding process was too long. Users were asked for redundant information across three different screens, causing severe fatigue.

Hidden system status

When documents were pending review, users received no visual feedback. This ambiguity directly led to a 30% increase in unnecessary support tickets.

Trust over features

Traders didn't abandon platforms because of missing analytics—they left because the verification interface felt unsecure and lacked transparent security badges.

Verification drop-off

The multi-step onboarding process was too long. Users were asked for redundant information across three different screens, causing severe fatigue.

Hidden system status

When documents were pending review, users received no visual feedback. This ambiguity directly led to a 30% increase in unnecessary support tickets.

Design process

Creating lofi designs

We sketched 12 concepts across three directions — unified timeline, role-based dashboards, and a structured handover form. Role-based dashboards tested strongest in paper prototype sessions.

Low-fidelity wireframes and sketches from the design exploration phase

Design solutions

Impact

Key outcomes

4,200+

Active traders on the platform within 6 months of launch

73%

Reduction in average deal negotiation time

91%

Task completion rate in usability testing

38%

Less time on documentation per shift at Medflow

62%

Fewer IT support tickets in the 3 months post-launch

4.6/5

Staff satisfaction score after rollout