1 – Introduction
In 2020, I joined Nexus as the company transitioned from Chrono.gg, a successful gaming daily deals platform, toward a much more ambitious vision: a creator-driven commerce and attribution platform built for modern live-service games. The leadership team saw a growing opportunity around performance-based creator programs, but studios lacked the infrastructure to support them - and this gap became the core of Nexus.
As the Product Designer, I led the design of the Nexus platform from the ground up. This included shaping the brand, defining the product experience, building the design system, and designing the initial suite of tools that would ultimately support over 6,000 creators and 40+ AAA publishers such as SEGA, CAPCOM, and Rovio.
Nexus became a turnkey solution that enabled studios to launch creator codes, attribute in-game purchases, distribute payouts globally, and manage creator onboarding and analytics - all in one place. My work helped transform the company’s pivot into a unified, intuitive platform that creators and publishers could trust.
Screenshots of Chrono.gg before we pivotted
2 – Challenges
A company redefining itself
Chrono’s legacy created trust among gamers and creators, but Nexus required a completely new brand identity, product offering, and user experience. We were building something that had no off-the-shelf equivalent, and the entire value proposition had to be expressed through design.
Multiple user types with competing needs
The platform served creators, publishers, marketing teams, finance teams, and developers. Each had unique requirements, and the experience had to feel simple and cohesive across all of them.
No existing design system or UI foundation
Every page, pattern, and component had to be defined from scratch - and built in a way that could scale quickly as the product grew.
Fast-moving environment with high technical complexity
The API, SDKs, payout systems, attribution logic, and dashboards all needed to be communicated clearly through UX, often translating deeply technical ideas into approachable workflows.
3 – Opportunity
The creator economy was accelerating, but game studios lacked the infrastructure to support scalable creator programs. Nexus aimed to fill that gap by offering a full-stack solution for attribution, rewards, and program management.
Design was central to unlocking this opportunity:
A strong brand helped reposition the company from Chrono.gg to Nexus.
A scalable design system accelerated development during a period of rapid growth.
Intuitive UI simplified complex backend systems like attribution and payouts.
Strategic feature work directly influenced engagement and revenue.
My goal was to create an experience that empowered both creators and publishers while demonstrating Nexus’s value during fundraising and early sales.
Austin, TX, 2020
4 – Role
As Product Designer, I was responsible for:
Designing the entire Nexus UI for initial launch and ongoing features
Leading the creation of the brand identity and guidelines
Building a complete design system and component library
Designing every company-facing marketing page and landing surface
Collaborating closely with product, engineering, and leadership on roadmap planning
Identifying UX opportunities and shaping product strategy during the pivot
Designing high-impact features that drove measurable business results
Supporting the team with ongoing consulting after my full-time role
I also visited the Austin office early in my tenure to align with stakeholders and define the 0→1 vision for the platform.
5 – Research and Foundations
Understanding both sides of the ecosystem
Through workshops, interviews, and internal sessions, I gathered insights from creators, community managers, and publishers. Key questions included:
What motivates creators to promote games?
What data do publishers need to run revenue-sharing programs?
How can attribution and payouts feel transparent and trustworthy?
What friction exists in current creator programs?
These insights shaped our early priorities: simplicity, clarity, and credibility.
Establishing a visual identity
Nexus needed to appeal to two very different audiences. The brand had to feel reliable to enterprise publishers but expressive and creator-friendly. I defined the color system, typography, logo usage, and overall visual language to meet both needs.
Building the design system
To support fast iteration, I created:
Typography and spacing rules
Color and semantic token guidelines
UI components, variants, and patterns
Interaction models
Documentation and usage rules
This foundation ensured that as the product and marketing needs expanded, everything felt cohesive and consistently executed.
Early branding exploration
6 – Strategy
Mapping user flows end-to-end
I designed flows for:
Creator onboarding and payouts
Publisher program setup
Creator code creation
Attribution tracking
Store integrations and API/SDK usage
Analytics and insights
The goal was to translate complex, technical concepts into simple, guided steps.
Designing for scale
Every interface needed to work for thousands of creators and dozens of publishers. That meant building UI patterns that supported:
Variable data states
Growth in features and metrics
Complex analytics
Multiple program types
Scalability became a guiding principle across the entire product.
Wireframing creator and publisher dashboards
7 – Feature highlights
Tipping in checkout
I designed the UI and flow for enabling tipping during purchases. A simple, clean prompt encouraged players to support creators directly. After launch:
60% of all transactions included a tip
This was a major milestone for creator earnings and showed how thoughtful UX could materially improve business outcomes.
Creator referral tooling
To boost engagement, I designed a set of polished Twitch panels and promotional templates that creators could instantly use. This significantly increased campaign reach:
48% increase in social traffic
24% increase in new user referral traffic
It was a clear example of design impacting growth beyond the core interface.
Creator and publisher dashboards
The dashboards consolidated attribution data, earnings, payouts, and performance insights into a streamlined experience. They became the central tools creators and publishers used every day to understand their impact and operations.
Marketing site & landing pages
I designed all public-facing pages, helping Nexus clearly articulate its value to creators and publishers. These surfaces played a key role in strengthening trust and supporting fundraising.
8 – Design System
The design system served as the backbone of both the product and the brand. It:
Unified the entire user experience
Reduced design and development time
Provided clarity for future features
Supported rapid scaling during an intense product-building cycle
Ensured consistency across every touchpoint
For a startup pivoting into a new space, it became an essential multiplier.
Early guidelines and components
9 – Post-launch Impact
During my time at Nexus, the platform grew rapidly:
Served 6,000+ creators
Partnered with 40+ AAA publishers
Helped secure a $10M Series A
Increased transaction value via tipping
Expanded traffic through creator referral tooling
Supported fast product development via a scalable design system
Even after my full-time role concluded, Nexus continued to bring me in to consult on product and design decisions - a reflection of the lasting trust and collaboration we’d built.
10 – Reflection
Nexus was one of the most multifaceted product roles of my career - combining brand, product, systems thinking, user research, and high-impact feature work. It required designing for two very different audiences while shaping a 0→1 platform in a space where best practices didn’t yet exist.
The experience reinforced the importance of:
Creating alignment early, especially during a company pivot
Simplifying technical concepts without losing depth
Designing systems, not screens
Prioritising scalability from day one
Balancing speed with long-term product health
Most of all, it highlighted how thoughtful design can steady a team during a pivot and help bring a new product to life in a way people trust and understand.
11 - Recommendations
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sam for several years. He’s a highly skilled designer whose insight I’ve relied on across product and brand design projects. Sam has deep expertise in building design systems and making the most of Figma’s component and library tools. He’s also an excellent communicator and someone whose contributions I truly value.
Adam Whipple, Co-founder and Creative Director at Nexus