Problem
Freelancers struggle to turn visitors into clients
Many solopreneurs rely on outdated or cluttered websites that fail to communicate their value clearly. As a result, they lose potential clients to confusion, friction, or lack of trust — even when their service is great.
Solution
A conversion-driven site built to sell your services
Hanzo gives solopreneurs a fast, focused, and persuasive agency website that converts. With a clear structure, bold visuals, and optimized calls to action, it helps you launch quickly, sell productized services effortlessly, and grow without getting stuck in endless design tweaks.
Context of Use
University students increasingly rely on digital wallets and subscriptions, but most campus services remain disconnected. Apps like Apple Wallet, Google Pay, and UNiDAYS have raised expectations for a single, streamlined experience. UniVerse responds to this by unifying payments, student discounts, and subscriptions into one app.
Mind Map
This mind map sets the stage by illustrating the interconnected problems around student financial struggles, discount discovery, and campus payment complexity. It outlines key domains like budgeting, subscriptions, and tech integration which shaped the problem space.
Visual Abstract
This mind map sets the stage by illustrating the interconnected problems around student financial struggles, discount discovery, and campus payment complexity. It outlines key domains like budgeting, subscriptions, and tech integration which shaped the problem space.
Process Overview
Stanford d. Design Process
The UniVerse project was structured using the Stanford d. design process, supported by participatory design methods at multiple stages. Each phase integrated direct user involvement from discovery and co-ideation to testing and refinement ensuring the final solution was informed by real behaviours, expectations, and feedback loops.
Interveiw Planning
Created a semi-structured guide to explore students' financial habits, discount awareness, and subscription tracking. The interviews balanced consistency with flexibility allowing users to share unplanned insights.
Participant Recruitment Strategy
To gather meaningful insights, I recruited university students who actively manage subscriptions, student discounts, and campus payments.
Hanzo helped me go from freelancing chaos to a real productized business. I launched my site in a weekend and started getting client requests the next day.
Mark Reynolds
Web Developer
Universe
UniVerse is a mobile-first wallet app tailored for students. It centralises student discounts, subscription tracking, and campus payments into one seamless platform.
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