2021 · Graduin · Edtech · Marketplace · 0→1
A student-finance marketplace, built from zero
Designed the original Graduin product - a marketplace connecting South African students with funders and tertiary institutions - alongside its brand, design system, and marketing site.
- Role
- Founding Product Designer
- Team
- Founder, 3 engineers
- Duration
- 18 months
- Discipline
- Edtech · Marketplace · 0→1
Context
Tertiary education in South Africa is gated by funding. Most learners apply blindly, most funders read PDFs by hand, and most institutions can't see the pipeline in front of them. Graduin set out to fix the three sides of that market at once.
The problem
Three audiences with three completely different mental models, sharing one product. How do you make each side feel like the system was built for them?
Approach
- 01
Modelled the marketplace as three distinct journeys with a shared spine - one identity, three flows.
- 02
Rebuilt a multi-page financial application as a single progressive form with restartable state.
- 03
Designed the funder review surface to feel less like an admin tool and more like a curated inbox.
- 04
Built brand and product in parallel so the marketing site, dashboard, and emails read as one voice.
Outcome
- →Significant drop in application abandonment after the form redesign
- →Cohesive identity and design system from day one - no rebrand needed at scale
- →Live product used by tens of thousands of learners across South Africa
Reflection
“Marketplaces are usually designed for one side and tolerated by the other two. Graduin worked because we refused to do that.”