Saus
Post Your Work, Show Your Sauce
… or "Saus”
an app for creatives to showcase their work, discover other creatives, stay inspired, and find and post jobs. An “all-in-one” creative hub full of sauce.
Creatives don’t have a single, focused place to showcase high-quality work, stay inspired, discover creatives authentically, or find opportunities that suit them.
On general social media apps, creative work that people spend time crafting gets buried under unrelated content, memes, ads, etc; and on transactional marketplaces (to hire creatives) there’s little sense of community or discovery.
Why does this matter?
From interviews and debriefs, people said they rely on Instagram to get discovered and showcase their creative work but feel frustrated at times: the feed is noisy, formats are limiting, and discovery is inconsistent. Other niche platforms can feel competitive or too job-focused, and marketplaces are often a poor fit for passion projects or collaboration. That gap makes it harder to get hired for the work they want, to genuinely connect with other creatives, and to present work in a professional way.
Saus is a mobile-first app that cleans up discovery and puts creative work front-and-center, this combines:
Portfolio-style profiles that prioritize projects in a clean layout using grids.
Curated project- feed and filtered explore page for discovery.
Easy project posting (portfolio pieces) and a job board (post & apply).
Moodboards (saved collections) for inspiration and collaboration.
And more…
Project scope & time
Project Planning
9 Hours
Research
20 Hours
Prioritization
14 Hours
UI Design & Prototype
45 Hours
Testing & Iterations
12 Hours
My role as a UX/UI designer on this project
I was the sole UX/UI designer on this project — responsible for the brief, research plan, interviews, synthesis (affinity map + personas), competitor analysis, feature roadmap, sitemap & user flows, low and high fidelity screens, branding and logo, and the prototype and usability tests.
Research Goal
We want to know how creatives currently share their work online, find other creatives and work opportunities so that we can help grow their network, attract the right clients, and confidently showcase their work.
To define the problem and understand the audience, I focused on qualitative research through one-on-one user interviews and a competitive analysis.
User Interviews: I conducted in-depth interviews with creatives in the industry to get perspective, habits, frustrations, etc.
Competitive Analysis: I studied Instagram (social media), Nova (networking platform), and Fiverr (gig marketplace) to see what worked and what fell short for users when it comes to creatives.
Research - Competitive Analysis
I reviewed existing platforms creatives use to showcase work, network, or find clients, in order to understand current standards, gaps, and opportunities. I studied Instagram (social media), Nova (creative networking platform), and Fiverr (gig marketplace) to see what worked and what fell short for users.
Competitive Analysis Takeaways:
Instagram is strong for reach and discovery - but is not portfolio focused and is too cluttered and algorithm based.
Nova is strong for portfolios / showcasing work and networking - but lacks daily engagement
Fiverr is strong for transactions and jobs - but weak for community or discovery.
Research - User Interviews
Interviews revealed that while Instagram remains the go-to platform for creatives, its clutter buries their work, and alternatives like Nova feel competitive, and platforms like Fiverr feel too transational and job focused.
“Instagram today is filled with junk and reels and takes away from creatives because their work is usually swept under the rug.”
“I do videography work for the night life music scene, and that’s what I love to do, rather if I took jobs from Fiverr it would just feel like a forced job rather than work I’m actually passionate about. ”
“Nova is great to showcase your work but it’s hard to find jobs on there, like only the best of the best get hired on there.”
Research Synthesis - Affinity Mapping and User Personas
After analyzing interviews and competitive platforms, I organized findings into an affinity map. Organizing insights from interviews into themes and patterns
Affinity Map Findings:
Most creatives work full-time as freelancers and rely on steady gigs for income.
Instagram is used by creatives as main portfolio / showcase their work.
Many want a personal portfolio site but lack time or money to build one.
Networking is important but should feel genuine, not forced or transactional.
Fiverr feels too transactional and not passion-driven.
Adapting to social media algorithms feels necessary but frustrating.
I created a user persona to represent key user archetypes and keep user goals, frustrations, and needs at the center of the design process.
Personas were built from affinity map insights and interview data, ensuring they reflected real user motivations rather than assumptions
Problem Statement
Independent creatives struggle to showcase their work in a professional and organized way because existing platforms like Instagram mix creative content with unrelated posts. This makes it harder for them to stand out and attract potential clients.
Why this matters: Without a clear portfolio space, creatives miss opportunities to be discovered and hired for the work they love.
The goal is to combine the best parts of showcasing, networking, and freelancing into one experience, without the distractions or limitations of existing platforms. A mobile-first app that acts as a dedicated hub for creatives.
Information Architecture and Flows
These insights became the foundation for Saus: a platform that blends professional visibility with a creative, approachable vibe, making it easier to showcase work, discover talent, and find jobs without the noise or exclusivity.
Next, I mapped out a sitemap to outline the app’s structure
From there, I designed user flows that accounted for:
User Interface Design
Turning Ideas into Structure: Starting with Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Before diving into the visuals, I mapped out the essential screens and user flows using low-fidelity wireframes. This allowed me to focus on functionality and navigation by making simple layouts before refining the details.
Defining the Look and Feel: Building a Visual Identity
Once the structure felt right, I shifted to branding and visual direction. I started with a moodboard to capture the app's personality. Modern, clean, and creative.
The goal was to balance professional networking with a creative energy that inspires users to share their work.
I designed two logo concepts, testing different ways to make the brand feel bold yet approachable. The final logo reflects simplicity and clarity, aligning with the clean UI and creative tone I wanted to convey.
Colors That Spark Creativity and Fonts That Feel Familiar
For typography, I chose SF Pro, Apple’s system font, for its clean, highly legible style and modern appeal—a familiar feel that makes navigation intuitive. For color, I went with a bright orange as the primary brand color, symbolizing creativity, enthusiasm, and boldness, paired with neutral tones for a balanced, professional look.
UI Interaction
Bringing It All Together: High-Fidelity Wireframes
With the branding in place, I applied it to the wireframes to create high-fidelity designs that combined usability with a strong visual identity. I refined every detail—from the structure of the posting flows to the visual hierarchy of the feed—to make sure the design felt cohesive, polished, and easy to use
