Three directions explored.
The most obvious solution was to keep the existing experience and simply encourage users to create their first
track. The problem was that it remained an "act anytime" decision. Users could always postpone it and come
back later.
I explored three directions before deciding on a dedicated onboarding flow.
One direction was introducing a lightweight guide that explained what Subtopia could do and what users could
expect from the experience.
At first, this felt reasonable. Creating personal self-improvement tracks is a meaningful commitment, and
some level of uncertainty is natural when someone is deciding whether to trust a platform with that process.
A guide could answer questions, showcase possibilities, and make the experience feel more approachable.
The more I explored it, the more it felt like the wrong starting point. Subtopia was built for people who
wanted less complexity, not more. The product already required users to actively participate in their own
growth. Asking them to read before doing anything added another layer between the user and the experience
itself.
The guide helped users understand the product. What it didn't do was help them experience
it.
Another direction was a guided walkthrough that introduced the app step by step. Users would be directed
through key actions such as creating a track, setting goals, and exploring different parts of the product.
Unlike a guide, this removed the need to read through documentation. It allowed users to learn by doing
while reducing the uncertainty of being dropped into a new interface.
The more I mapped the experience out, the more it felt like the product was leading the user rather than the
user leading themselves. Progress depended on following instructions, dismissing prompts, and moving through
a predefined sequence of steps.
For a product built around personal ownership and active participation, that felt like the wrong dynamic.
Users were learning how to use Subtopia, but they still weren't engaging with it on their own terms.
The walkthrough helped users navigate the product. What it didn't do was make the
experience feel like theirs.
The final direction was starting users with a small set of pre-created tracks already available in their
library.
This solved the empty-state problem immediately. The app would feel alive from the moment it was opened.
Users could explore tracks, listen to them, and get a sense of what was possible before creating anything
themselves.
The challenge was that Subtopia was never designed as a content library.
A confidence track can mean entirely different things to different people. Someone may want confidence in
social situations, while someone else may want confidence at work. The goal was never to provide content. It
was to give users the tools to create something personal to them.
Starting users with predefined tracks changed that relationship. Instead of creating something that
reflected their own goals, the first interaction became evaluating content chosen by someone else.
The tracks solved the empty-state problem. What they compromised was ownership.
The outcome of each exploration revealed a different constraint.
The experience could not:
Encourage passive participation
Rely on future motivation
