Improving the onboarding experience for young gamers

Year: 2022

Client: Hamul

Studio: Logic + Rhythm

Role: Lead Product Designer

Services: Product Design, Illustration

Category: Gaming

The client

Hamul allows friends to game together using video and voice chat while having fun utilising emoji reactions and sound effects.

The problem

Hamul discovered that its younger user base, aged 5 to 12, was experiencing a high volume of account recovery requests. The root cause was that many users had signed up with their parents' email addresses, forgotten their passwords, and were unable to access those emails to initiate the password recovery process. This revealed the need to design an onboarding flow that enabled young gamers to create and manage their accounts independently.

In addition, Hamul aimed to introduce a rewards program called Hamul Coin to encourage users to invite their friends. Users could earn coins through referrals and redeem them for new emoji reactions and video effects, enhancing their in-app experience.

My responsibilities

Recognizing that email was not a viable solution, the focus shifted to using SMS-based OTPs for account verification and login. This approach eliminated the need for email in managing login credentials and password recovery.

The onboarding flow was designed to set users up for success by guiding them through key actions such as setting up a username and profile picture, adding their favorite games, and inviting friends to join.

The impact

Improved login success rates: reduced the number of login issues caused by forgotten passwords and inaccessible email accounts, and enabled young users to create and manage their accounts without relying on their parents' email addresses.
Simplified account recovery: eliminated the need for email-based password resets by implementing SMS-based OTPs, making account recovery faster and more accessible.
Higher user engagement: enhanced onboarding flow encouraged users to personalize their profiles, add favorite games, and connect with friends, fostering greater in-app engagement.
Boosted user growth: the introduction of the Hamul Coin rewards program incentivized referrals, driving an increase in new user sign-ups through friend invitations.
Enhanced in-app activity: reward redemption for emoji reactions and video effects motivated users to interact more frequently with app features, increasing overall activity.

Hamul has since been acquired by Roblox for $17 million in 2022.