Flare Quick Start Guide
Head of Community and Customer Experience, 2021 to 2022
Safety technology startup, acquired by Smart Holdings in 2023
Research, design, and production
April 2021 - April 2022
Turning customer research into the strongest activation lever.
A branded product guide in the box, built to close the gap between buying a Flare and setting it up.
The issue wasn’t only setup friction. Customers needed a reason to believe a safety bracelet belonged in everyday life. I designed a guide that handled both: a visual setup path and a more human story about safety, grounded in what customers had told us directly.
OverviewCombined setup, reasons to activate, real-world proof, troubleshooting, and community invitation in one guide.
Managed the design and print production, then got the guide into every box.
Answered support questions before they were asked while driving setup.
242%
activation lift, week one
69%
scanned the QR code in month one
1,841
net new users activated, month one
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Setup friction was part of the problem, but the research said the bigger issue was belief. People pictured danger as being alone at night, so a safety bracelet didn't feel necessary yet. The guide had two jobs: walk someone through setup so nothing stopped them, and shift how they thought about safety.
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Every section came from what users had told us directly.
Setup: A visual, step-by-step walkthrough with a QR code straight to the app.
Reasons to activate: The emotional case for wearing it, alongside discounts and nonprofit donations.
Proof: Real testimonials and imagery of Flare in everyday situations, aimed at changing what "danger" looked like.
Troubleshooting: The questions already coming into support, answered before anyone filed a ticket.
What comes next: An invitation into the community, so activation was a beginning rather than the end of a purchase.
I designed it, managed print production, and got it into the box.
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The single biggest lever on activation that year, delivered as a printed guide in a box: up 242% in week one, 212% over four weeks, 56% over eight.
Proof that people read what answers their questions, with nearly 69% scanning the QR code in the first month.
Support questions answered before they were asked, so the guide deflected tickets while it drove setup.
A purchase turned into the beginning of their Flare journey, with 1,841 net new users activated in the first month and an invitation into the community waiting for each of them.
Read more about the Flare Product Activation and CX Research Initiative -
Most branded communications are written from the product outward rather than the person inward. This one was not. It came from conversations, surveys, and time spent with the findings until I understood what people were feeling when they opened the box, not just what they were doing. Empathy without research is a guess. Research without empathy gets you the wrong questions. The person opening that box was alone with a decision about their own safety, and every page had to be worth their trust.
