TM

Transforming Tradie Payments

/25
A mockup for an iPhone placed on a table for a personal finance mobile app

In construction and trade work, trust breaks down fast when money goes missing or expectations go unmet. Witzer set out to solve that — building a platform that brings milestone-based payments, visual tracking, and messaging into one shared space for homeowners and tradies. Over multiple iterations, I led the end-to-end product design — from clunky finance tables to a modular fintech experience that not only allows homeowners to track progress of their projects inside the app, but also now includes an AI assistant, stronger brand identity, and a UX flow that works for site-hardened builders and digital-novice homeowners alike. This case study unpacks how I helped Witzer evolve from a compliance-heavy MVP to a clean, confident, innovative product that gets money moving — without the mess.

In construction and trade work, trust breaks down fast when money goes missing or expectations go unmet. Witzer set out to solve that — building a platform that brings milestone-based payments, visual tracking, and messaging into one shared space for homeowners and tradies. Over multiple iterations, I led the end-to-end product design — from clunky finance tables to a modular fintech experience that not only allows homeowners to track progress of their projects inside the app, but also now includes an AI assistant, stronger brand identity, and a UX flow that works for site-hardened builders and digital-novice homeowners alike. This case study unpacks how I helped Witzer evolve from a compliance-heavy MVP to a clean, confident, innovative product that gets money moving — without the mess.

Client:

Witzer

Client:

Witzer

My Role:

Lead Product & UX Designer

My Role:

Lead Product & UX Designer

Year:

2025

Year:

2025

Service Provided:

App Design, Product Design, Web Design, Brand Design, Digital Innovation Strategy

Service Provided:

App Design, Product Design, Web Design, Brand Design, Digital Innovation Strategy

Download the app

Download the app

Download the app

Download the app

Download the app

Download the app

Multiple screen mockups from the first relaunch
Multiple screen mockups from the first relaunch
Multiple screen mockups from the first relaunch

The Challenge

The original version of Witzer was technically functional as a business idea and process, but it was visually chaotic, overloaded with duplicate interactions, dense layouts, and a steep learning curve for tradies unfamiliar with digital platforms.

Across three iterations, the key challenges were:

  • Users struggled to understand what had been paid, claimed, or approved

  • Brand colours (originally 5+) were initially used to separate the various areas of the app, but long term this would always lead to visual clutter

  • Builders and homeowners needed shared clarity — without added admin

  • Onboarding was confusing, especially for those not used to fintech products


The Goal

Redesign the Witzer platform across phases to improve:

  • Payment visibility and trust between parties

  • UX simplicity for builders managing multiple jobs

  • Visual coherence across the brand and product

  • Innovative features that reduce customer service strain and put Witzer on the map

And do it all without alienating a user base that’s often not digitally native.

Multiple screen mockups from the first relaunch
Multiple screen mockups from the first relaunch

Process

I approached Witzer’s evolution in three phases — each shaped by time constraints, user needs, and internal resourcing.


V1: Audit & Annotated MVP (Legacy App)

  • Legacy UI relied on dense tables, unclear buttons, and zero visual hierarchy

  • Payment status was buried under jargon (“claims”, “milestones”, etc.)

  • Used annotations to expose UX flaws and content ambiguity


V2: 2-Week Redesign Sprint with Full Colour Palette

Brief: Refresh the UI in 2 weeks using the full brand palette

Outcome: Delivered a vibrant but overly saturated UI that improved layout clarity but created visual noise

Wins:

  • Created modular layout structure for job/project breakdowns

  • Established consistent icons, spacing, and payment flows

  • Improved readability and UX hierarchy for key workflows

Trade-off: Too many colours reduced trust and brand recognition


V3: Strategic Pivot, Brand Refinement & AI

Brief: Redesign Witzer with a tighter, more confident UX — and explore how we could differentiate through intelligent automation and stronger brand clarity.

What Changed: After running a strategic audience workshop with the founder, we shifted the product's core narrative. Witzer wasn’t just about secure milestone payments — it was about saving time, preventing disputes, and reducing admin stress for time-poor builders.

This unlocked a new north star:
“Time is money. Witzer gives you both.”

And it reframed how we thought about value delivery — not just in screens, but in moments.

Outcome: Delivered a new clean, brand-aligned app experience, embedded AI project assistant and repositioned Witzer as a time-saving, trust-building platform for builders and clients.

Wins:

  • Ran a business vision workshop → redefined Witzer’s core audience and positioning

  • Pitched, designed and created (both text and voice) an AI assistant to allow tradies to save time, complete tasks inside the app and help educate and improve their business

  • Cut the colour system from 5+ to 2 core brand colours → boosted visual clarity and trust

  • Refined dashboard into modular card-based layout for projects, funds, claims

  • Integrated messaging, notifications and approvals into a single user flow

  • Introduced calendar booking features between tradies and homeowners, saving on missed phone calls or back and forth communications

  • Created mobile-first interactions that work on-site, one-handed

Trade-off:

  • Transitioning to a more focused brand system meant reworking existing design patterns — but ultimately reduced design debt and aligned product with audience expectations

  • Building for tradies meant simplifying everything — no jargon, no clutter, no fluff

Solution

  • Delivered a redesigned, brand-consistent app that’s faster to use and easier to understand

  • Launched a functional AI assistant (text + voice) to reduce task switching and manual admin

  • Visual consistency improved across product, onboarding, and investor decks

  • Onboarding time reduced — builders now complete key setup flows in under 2 mins

  • New calendar tool reduced back-and-forth for job scheduling between builders and clients

  • Dashboard system now fully modular — scalable for future features like quoting or variations


Impact (Ongoing)

  • Used by builders managing $100k–$1M+ residential contracts

  • AI assistant now handles up to 65% of common tasks and queries

  • Builders reported feeling "less admin overhead and fewer phone calls"

  • Positive feedback on clarity of claims and fund flows — “feels like a tool built for us”

  • Platform now positioned for scale with strong product-market fit and clearer brand narrative

  • Internal teams now aligned around a single UX and feature roadmap

A screenshot for two app screens

Outcome

“Tradies don’t need more software — they need fewer questions at 6am.”

  • Reducing friction meant removing options, not adding features

  • Every interaction needed to respect attention span, timing, and context

  • AI works best when it feels like a mate, not a manager

  • Clearer brand = faster trust = fewer drop-offs