Case Study2015-2018 • iOS, Android

Loot Crate

Lead Product Designer and Product Manager

The Brief

Designing a community-driven commerce experience for geeks and gamers.

Context

Loot Crate’s audience of geeks and gamers were deeply passionate about their fandoms, but they lacked a dedicated space to connect with one another inside the Loot Crate ecosystem. Community engagement primarily lived on external platforms like Facebook groups, fragmenting the experience and limiting Loot Crate’s ability to create meaningful, ongoing relationships with its customers. At the same time, Loot Crate was undergoing a rebranding effort, with a growing and increasingly complex product catalog.

Core Challenges

Key obstacles that required strategic design thinking to overcome.

Community Without Fragmentation — Users wanted to connect around shared interests without leaving the Loot Crate ecosystem

Product Clarity During Rebrand — The expanding crate catalog needed a clear value proposition for each offering

Information Overload — Balancing content, conversation, and commerce without overwhelming users

Web-to-Mobile Translation — Determining which web features enhanced mobile and which introduced friction

Goal

Design a mobile-first experience that allows Loot Crate’s community to connect, express fandom, and discover products in one cohesive platform. Success meant increased engagement, clearer product discovery, and higher conversion without sacrificing usability or clarity.

Users

Primary users were Loot Crate subscribers and fans of gaming, sci-fi, comics, and pop culture. These users were highly expressive, community-driven, and motivated by discovery and exclusivity, but had low tolerance for cluttered interfaces or unclear product value.

Key Insight

Fandom is social by nature. If community and commerce are designed together, discovery becomes engagement, not interruption.

Solution Overview

The Loot Crate iOS app was designed as a community-first commerce platform. It combined a structured product catalog with social features that allowed users to gather around topics, comment, and engage with content tied directly to their fandoms. Rather than replicating the website, the app focused on clarity, conversation, and momentum.

Design Principles

Community drives retention. Clarity beats completeness. Content should guide, not distract. Mobile-first means removing friction, not shrinking the web.

Challenges and Tradeoffs

Structuring Content During Rebrand: Products were reclassified by fandom to create a clearer digital catalog and reduce cognitive load. Balancing Social and Commerce: Core MVP features were prioritized to support conversation and purchasing without overbuilding social mechanics.

Core Experience

1. Entry and Discovery: Users enter through fandom-driven content rather than a traditional storefront. 2. Topics and Content Feed: Users browse and engage with topics tied to specific fandoms. 3. Community Interaction: Commenting and discussion reinforce engagement. 4. Product Exploration: Crates surfaced contextually with clear value propositions. 5. Purchase: A streamlined buying experience reduces friction.

Outcome

Within the first month of launch, the Loot Crate iOS app became the preferred platform for mobile users. Web daily active users declined as customers migrated to the app. The app achieved a 12.3 percent conversion rate from storefront to checkout and reached over 500,000 monthly active users within the first 27 days.

Reflection

For brands built on passion and identity, community is not a feature. It is the product. This project shows how aligning social interaction with commerce can drive engagement, loyalty, and measurable business impact when designed with clarity and restraint.