Rethinking the Tip Jar

A new take on an old classic

It's true, most individuals no longer carry cash regularly. So, what happens when you'd like to tip someone? We've all experienced this, whether it's a band performing at a nearby pub, the hotel's housekeeping staff, or the shuttle driver taking you to the airport. These individuals still deserve a tip, and we pondered how to accomplish this in our contemporary digital era.

My role

  • Lead the design team through the conceptualizing and ideation phase

  • Presented concepts to stakeholders

A product manager at Netspend initially conceived the idea. He imagined a method for individuals to tip with their smartphones and shared his concept with the design team. We proceeded with brainstorming meetings before independently developing our interpretations. From the beginning, I was determined to maintain a minimalistic approach. I desired zero disturbances. Users should be able to launch the app, tip someone, and complete the process. If the user interface was cluttered and distracting, it could prolong the time it takes to send a tip and discourage people from using the product.

Tipping someone in four easy steps

1. The first screen an existing user would see when opening the app. Zero distractions.

2. The user can find someone in three simple ways: users nearby on the map, by scanning the user’s tipcode or looking up by username.

3. Add the amount to tip and slide to send (I decided to use a 'slide to send' action to help prevent accidental taps).

4. All done! I also decided to let the person getting tips to have an option for an automatic “thank you message” like seen above.