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Smarter Bookings

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Smarter Bookings: AI-Powered UX for Corporate Events

Enhancing corporate event bookings through intelligent AI integration — from concept to live MVP in 90 days.

Role Founding Product Designer
Timeline 90 days (2025)
Type B2C · Pre-seed Startup
Outcome Live MVP · 70%+ time reduction

Overview

In early 2025, I joined a pre-seed AI startup as the founding product designer for a B2C events planning platform. The challenge: go from concept to a working application in just 90 days.

I collaborated with another UX contributor and partnered closely with product and engineering. As the only permanent designer, I led the design vision, established the design system, and helped shape how AI could assist users in planning personal events.

The result: a live MVP that enabled users to create structured event plans in under 15 minutes — blending AI speed with human-friendly structure and trust.

My Role & Scope

As the founding product designer, I:

Phase 1 — Discovery (Weeks 1–2)

Research & Insights

Together with the other UX contributor, I conducted 5 moderated interviews with frequent corporate event planners (our ICP). We surfaced recurring "jobs to be done":

Key insight: users wanted AI + agency — automation with the ability to adjust.

Moderated User Interviews

I conducted moderated interviews with 5 corporate event planners to delve into their experiences and pain points with current booking methods. The selection included participants from various industries to ensure comprehensive feedback.

Finding 01

Many users found existing booking systems to be cumbersome and time-consuming.

A disjointed experience caused by too many tools resulted in increased confusion and anxiety that things would fall through the cracks.
Finding 02

Users desired personalized recommendations based on past bookings.

This would enhance their decision-making process. A successful product has to be actionable, not just usable.
Finding 03

"I want everything in one place."

Seamless syncing was essential for their planning workflow. Integration with calendar tools and the ability to share with others was a high priority.

Phase 2 — Concepting (Weeks 3–5)

Ideation & Testing

I explored 3 AI interaction models:

User testing showed a hybrid approach worked best: AI generates a plan → user customizes it → system adapts in real time.

UI Design

The high-fidelity mockup focused on simplicity and accessibility, incorporating AI-driven features like smart suggestions and easy navigation. We chose a clean aesthetic with intuitive icons and a color palette that aligns with corporate branding. Interactive elements were carefully designed to enhance user engagement while keeping essential information front and center.

Problem → Solution

Problem 01

Users struggled with the initial navigation of selected venues and needed additional prompting to move forward with the booking process.

Solution: We redesigned the onboarding flow to introduce users gradually to the features. User test findings were tracked and shared with the team.

Phase 3 — Design & Build (Weeks 6–10)

Design System & The Pivot

Based on user research findings, I designed a modular event builder covering venues, guests, catering, and timelines. I integrated AI recommendations with transparency patterns — editable fields, cost breakdowns, and correction loops — and built the first design system (components, colors, interactions) to accelerate dev handoff.

The Pivot

A decision was made that we could and should aim to be better than the status quo. As a result, the team made a hard pivot to a totally different type of interface — one that incorporated AI to assist users with the planning experience. An entirely new interface was mocked up in Subframe, a new AI-powered design platform.

Phase 4 — Delivery (Weeks 11–13)

Shipping

Outcomes & Impact

120d Concept → live application
<15m Users created structured event plans — a 70%+ time reduction from manual planning
✓ Validated product-market fit hypothesis: structured AI recs > freeform AI prompts
✓ Established the design foundation for ongoing development: system, workflows, and user feedback loops
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Smarter Bookings: AI-Powered UX for Corporate Events — Steve Kansa
All case studies
B2C · AI/ML UX · 0→1

Smarter Bookings: AI-Powered UX for Corporate Events

Enhancing corporate event bookings through intelligent AI integration — from concept to live MVP in 90 days.

RoleFounding Product Designer
Timeline90 days (2025)
TypeB2C · Pre-seed Startup
OutcomeLive MVP · 70%+ time reduction

Overview

In early 2025, I joined a pre-seed AI startup as the founding product designer for a B2C events planning platform. The challenge: go from concept to a working application in just 90 days.

I collaborated with another UX contributor and partnered closely with product and engineering. As the only permanent designer, I led the design vision, established the design system, and helped shape how AI could assist users in planning personal events.

The result: a live MVP that enabled users to create structured event plans in under 15 minutes — blending AI speed with human-friendly structure and trust.

My Role & Scope

As the founding product designer, I:

Phase 1 — Discovery (Weeks 1–2)

Research & Insights

Together with the other UX contributor, I conducted 5 moderated interviews with frequent corporate event planners (our ICP). We surfaced recurring jobs to be done: Help me plan quickly. Keep me within budget. Don't let me forget important details.

Key insight: users wanted AI + agency — automation with the ability to adjust.

Finding 01

Many users found existing booking systems to be cumbersome and time-consuming.

A disjointed experience caused by too many tools resulted in increased confusion and anxiety that things would fall through the cracks.
Finding 02

Users desired personalized recommendations based on past bookings.

This would enhance their decision-making process. A successful product has to be actionable, not just usable.
Finding 03

"I want everything in one place."

Seamless syncing was essential for their planning workflow. Integration with calendar tools and the ability to share with others was a high priority.

Phase 2 — Concepting (Weeks 3–5)

Ideation & Testing

I explored 3 AI interaction models: AI Copilot Chat (flexible but unstructured), Smart Templates (structured but rigid), and Guided Workflow (step-by-step with AI-powered suggestions). User testing showed a hybrid worked best: AI generates a plan → user customizes it → system adapts in real time.

Problem 01

Users struggled with the initial navigation of selected venues and needed additional prompting to move forward with the booking process.

Solution: We redesigned the onboarding flow to introduce users gradually to the features. User test findings were tracked and shared with the team.

Phase 3 — Design & Build (Weeks 6–10)

Design System & The Pivot

Based on user research findings, I designed a modular event builder covering venues, guests, catering, and timelines. I integrated AI recommendations with transparency patterns — editable fields, cost breakdowns, and correction loops — and built the first design system to accelerate dev handoff.

A decision was made to aim higher than the status quo. The team made a hard pivot to a totally different interface — one that incorporated AI to assist users with the planning experience. An entirely new interface was mocked up in Subframe, a new AI-powered design platform.

Phase 4 — Delivery (Weeks 11–13)

Shipping

Outcomes & Impact

120dConcept → live application
<15mUsers created structured event plans — a 70%+ time reduction from manual planning
✓Validated product-market fit hypothesis: structured AI recs > freeform AI prompts
✓Established the design foundation for ongoing development: system, workflows, and user feedback loops
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