Product design
Blackbird
Blackbird is a loyalty and payments platform for restaurants, built on blockchain but designed for everyday diners. Its core products include a tap-to-earn terminal that works independently of POS systems, loyalty rewards tied to visits, and membership programs like Breakfast Club and Blackbird Club. With no app required, diners simply tap their phone to check in, earn perks, and unlock exclusive offers. For restaurants, Blackbird drives repeat visits and lowers processing fees—creating a modern, hospitality-first alternative to traditional payment systems.
Blackbird is a loyalty and payments platform for restaurants, built on blockchain but designed for everyday diners. Its core products include a tap-to-earn terminal that works independently of POS systems, loyalty rewards tied to visits, and membership programs like Breakfast Club and Blackbird Club. With no app required, diners simply tap their phone to check in, earn perks, and unlock exclusive offers. For restaurants, Blackbird drives repeat visits and lowers processing fees—creating a modern, hospitality-first alternative to traditional payment systems.
Process
We kicked off the project with deep qualitative research—interviewing small and independent restaurant owners, operators, and staff to understand their day-to-day pain points. These conversations surfaced key friction areas: high POS fees, limited visibility into guest behavior, and a lack of control over loyalty tools.
In parallel, we ran a competitive analysis across restaurant loyalty apps, payment processors, and crypto-integrated services. This helped us map industry norms, uncover gaps, and benchmark usability patterns.
Blackbird’s loyalty offering centers on two membership programs: Breakfast Club (daily morning drinks at partner cafés) and Blackbird Club (exclusive perks across the network). We redesigned these experiences to be intuitive and rewarding from the first tap. Our work included: Streamlined sign-up and onboarding flows Clear presentation of perks and membership tiers Lightweight web interfaces for tap confirmations and perk redemptions Thoughtful use of language, animation, and feedback to reinforce delight The goal: make crypto-powered rewards feel effortless, human, and inviting—especially for diners who don't know (or care) that it's on-chain.
On the restaurant side, we revamped the dashboard restaurants use to manage guest activity. Based on early research, we prioritized: Check-in tracking and loyalty history Performance insights: repeat visits, membership-driven traffic Easy reward setup: no need to configure complex POS logic A UI that feels modern but familiar—usable even during a lunch rush This tool became the operational backbone for restaurant partners—designed to be flexible enough for chains, yet lightweight enough for a small café.
Our collaboration with Blackbird supported more than just a redesign, it helped lay the foundation for national scale. As Blackbird expanded from the East Coast to the West. By centering real diner and operator needs, we helped transform a complex blockchain product into something that feels simple, warm, and rewarding, whether you’re grabbing coffee in Brooklyn or checking in for dinner in LA.
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