Suran Tierney
I am a product designer driven by curiosity and a lot of questions. I design thoughtful experiences inspired by how people interact with the world.
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Work
  1. Share & Earn
  2. HP x Yoto
  3. Yoto Club
  4. IT Sportswoman
  5. IT National Debate
  6. Type & Order
  7. Platform for Joy
  8. Dreamcatchr

Share & Earn — Growing the Yoto Community Through Sharing



Yoto

A screen-free audio player for children

Shipped: November 2025
Role: Product Designer
Team: Vince (Engineer), Aaron (Product Manager) Problem
While customers were already recommending Yoto organically, the referral experience didn’t support that behaviour. It was difficult to find, relied on incentives that didn’t resonate, and surfaced at the wrong moments. 

As a result, engagement was low and error rates were high, missing an opportunity to turn word-of-mouth into a scalable growth channel.




Process


I started by understanding how the existing system was performing, working with product and data to review customer behaviour, feedback, and referral performance. This highlighted key gaps in visibility, timing, and usability.


We explored third-party platforms to scale the solution, landing on Extole. Given time constraints, we focused on delivering an MVP, prioritising speed and learning while working within platform limitations.


I mapped the end-to-end journey to identify high-intent moments to share (post-purchase, in-account, email), shifting referrals from a hidden feature to something embedded in existing behaviour.


From this, I designed entry points and triggers to increase visibility and reduce friction, focusing on making sharing feel lightweight and intuitive.


I then designed the core referral flow and supporting screens, iterating to balance user needs, business goals, and technical constraints, simplifying where possible and prioritising clarity.


Finally, I created reusable templates and assets to support rollout across channels, enabling quick testing and iteration post-launch.

Discovery research with 6 participants revealed that referrals were happening organically but the in-app experience wasn't supporting them.
MVP flow developed in collaboration with Aaron (PM) and Extole (referral platform partner) to define the end-to-end referral journey across three phases.
Four entry points designed to surface the referral programme — account dashboard, navigation menu, and in-app promotion — addressing the core discovery problem identified in research.

Advocate flow — getting and sharing the referral link.
Friend flow — redeeming the £15 discount via email.



Outcome

What started as a hidden, frustrating feature became something people actually wanted to use. By meeting users where they already were and making sharing feel natural, referrals went from an afterthought to a real part of how Yoto grows.

Launched for Peak 2025.



Personal learning
This project moved fast and the priorities shifted with it. The biggest thing I took away was the value of pushing for clarity early, on feedback, sign-off, and design direction, rather than waiting for it to come to me.

I also learned to bring engineering in sooner, communicate when things feel unclear, and hold stakeholders accountable when alignment slips.

Next time I'd set clearer checkpoints at the start, regular check-ins, earlier testing, and making sure everyone is aligned before things escalate.

And sometimes, asking for help with a smile goes a long way :)