PUNCHCARD
role
Design Lead
(Product + Brand)
Team
Cindy Tso
Cynthia Chan
Mahee Shah
timeline
8 weeks
A digital punchcard concept that encourages repeat engagement while supporting local business discovery.
project type
Mobile App / Consumer Rewards
context
problem
research
solution
user flow
branding
proposed kpis
reflection
context
One of my favorite things to hear is "wanna go to Berry Fresh after class?" That's the local froyo place right next to our classes. My friends and I love it, but we've hesitated going more than once because we forgot our Berry Fresh punch cards at home.
My friend Helen runs a nail art and haircutting business at Wellesley. All her promotion is Instagram and word of mouth, and it only reaches people who already know her. Potential customers who would love her work just never find out she exists.
These are two sides of the same problem.
problem
Small and student-run businesses have loyal customers. They just lack tools built for them: no easy way to bring people back, and no infrastructure to help new people discover them in the first place.
research
01 Starting Local
I started close to home at the businesses I actually use near campus.
Berry Fresh, the froyo place right next to our classes, already has returning customers. But my friends and I have hesitated going more than once because we forgot our punch cards. That small moment of friction is a real visit that never happens.
Avalon Exchange, a thrift and clothing store near CMU, gives store credit when you trade in clothes. But if I forget my credit card at home, I don't go in, because I know I won't be able to use it. It's not that I stopped caring. The card is just not with me.
Wushiland Boba has a loyalty program too, but it lives inside their own app. I've never downloaded it. I'm not going to download a separate app for every place I like. If all my loyalty cards lived in one place, I'd actually use them.
02 Interview
My friend Helen runs a nail art and haircutting business at Wellesley. I asked her about points of friction.
"People are scared to reach out on personal DM. I would really like more exposure and for interactions to be less awkward."
When I asked if she'd use a dedicated app for small and student-run businesses to post updates and get discovered:
"I would be super happy. And moneyful."
"It's all just Instagram and word of mouth. I wish there was something like a craft fair but more regular, so new people could actually find me." -Helen
insights
01
The card gets forgotten.
Loyalty behavior already exists. The physical card is the only thing breaking it.
// berry fresh, avalon exchange
02
One app per business is one too many.
Fragmented loyalty programs don't get used. Consolidation isn't a nice-to-have, it's the whole point.
// Wushiland Boba
03
Small business discovery is hard.
People want to support small businesses. They just have no easy way to find them.
// interview - helen
04
The appetite is real.
Small business owners don't need convincing; they're just waiting for the right tool.
// interview - helen
solution
Digital loyalty and local discovery, built for small businesses and the communities around them.
Your punchcards and business updates in one home page.
Top three most completed punchcards and stories right on the home page.
Get real-time story format updates from businesses you follow.
Stories from nearby and following businesses are shown.
Ask the cashier for a 4-digit code to validate your punch.
You showed up for your community. This drink's on us!
user flow
branding
proposed key performance indicators
+ 1: PUNCH COMPLETION RATE
Metric: % of started cards that get fully completed
Why it matters: Shows whether users are actually returning consistently, not just signing up once
+ 2: CARDS ACTIVE PER USER
Metric: Average number of active punch cards per user
Why it matters: If people are consolidating their loyalty into one app, this number grows over time
+ 3: DISCOVERY TO FOLLOW RATE
Metric: % of users who follow or save a new business after browsing the feed
Why it matters: Shows whether the discovery layer is actually changing behavior, not just being scrolled past
+ 4: NOTES ENGAGEMENT RATE
Metric: % of users who tap into a business update or note
Why it matters: Proves the feed is driving real interest, not just filling screen space
reflection
Reflection
A difficult part of this project was the scope; I started with a big community vision, and I had to narrow scope to two features that actually solved specific problems. Designing for different types of businesses (food, clothing, student services) was hard to unify, but that's where research comes in. Research actually shifted my assumptions: I thought student businesses needed loyalty, but I realized they need discovery more, so I combined them to make the main features of Punchcard.
Designing Punchcard helped me learn more about myself and what I love designing for. I want to keep making products for the small, local, and overlooked that don't have a design team behind them.
I designed the customer side first, but my team and I are currently designing for the merchant side and actively reaching out to small businesses near CMU! :)
© 2025 Cindy Tso