Designing a personalized supplement discovery experience from zero
I was the founding designer at Vitaon and built the entire supplement discovery experience from scratch. I designed a conversational quiz and transparent recommendations that helped users understand what supplements fit their goals, then guided them to trusted retailers without pressure.
TL;DR
Overview
Vitaon is a personalized supplement startup that helps people discover the right supplements for their goals through a guided quiz and recommendation experience. I joined as the first and only product designer, responsible for designing the entire product experience from the ground up.
At its core, Vitaon wasn’t about selling supplements directly. It was about helping people make sense of a crowded, confusing wellness space and confidently decide what to take next.
The problem
Choosing supplements is confusing and untrustworthy.
Most people don’t know which supplements they actually need. Ingredient lists are overwhelming, advice online is inconsistent, and many products feel sales driven rather than helpful.
Vitaon’s challenge was clear:
How do we help users feel confident in supplement recommendations without selling directly or overwhelming them with medical detail?
My role
I was the founding product designer, working closely with a small cross-functional team.
I owned:
The end-to-end quiz and onboarding experience
Recommendation structure and explanation design
Outbound purchase flows to Amazon, Walmart, and iHerb
Design system and visual language
Brand expression across product surfaces
Prototyping, testing, and iteration
This was true 0→1 product design.
Understanding users
Early research revealed a few consistent themes:
Users wanted personalization, but not medical intimidation
They were skeptical of supplement claims
They wanted to understand why something was recommended
They preferred flexibility in where they purchased supplements
Trust and clarity mattered more than convenience.
The core challenge
Balance personalization, credibility, and simplicity.
The quiz needed to gather meaningful lifestyle and goal data without feeling invasive.
The recommendations needed to feel tailored, not generic.
Outbound links needed to feel helpful, not like ads.
The experience had to guide, not push.
Designing the experience
2. Making recommendations understandable
Once users reached their results, the biggest question was “why these?”
I designed the recommendation experience to clearly show:
Which supplements were suggested
Which answers or goals led to each recommendation
What each supplement generally supports
This transparency helped users feel informed rather than sold to.
1. A quiz that feels human
Instead of a long-form questionnaire, I designed the quiz to feel conversational.
Short, friendly question steps
Plain language instead of clinical terms
Clear progress to reduce drop off
Visual pacing to keep the experience lightweight
The goal was to help users reflect on their goals, not feel evaluated.
3. Thoughtful outbound commerce
Since Vitaon didn’t sell supplements directly, the handoff mattered.
I designed outbound links to trusted retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and iHerb in a way that:
Preserved user trust
Avoided aggressive CTAs
Made it clear users were free to choose where to buy
Kept Vitaon positioned as a guide, not a seller
The experience reinforced that Vitaon’s value was recommendation quality, not transaction control.
4. Building the design system
To support fast iteration, I built a flexible design system early.
Reusable quiz components
Consistent typography and spacing
Scalable color and layout rules
Patterns shared across product and marketing
This helped the team move quickly while maintaining a cohesive brand.
Collaboration and iteration
I worked closely with founders and engineers to prototype and test quickly.
We relied on:
Figma prototypes to validate flows
Internal testing to identify confusion points
Iteration based on engagement and drop off
Design decisions were grounded in how users actually moved through the experience.
Impact
By designing Vitaon from scratch, we launched a personalized supplement discovery experience that felt calm, trustworthy, and easy to use.
The work helped:
Reduce confusion around supplement choices
Increase confidence in recommendations
Create a clear and guided discovery flow
Establish a strong product and brand foundation
Users left with clarity, not pressure.
What I learned
Vitaon reinforced that trust is the product.
When designing for health and wellness, clarity beats cleverness.
Users don’t need more options, they need better explanations.
And personalization only works when people understand the logic behind it.
Designing Vitaon taught me how to guide sensitive decisions without owning the transaction, and how to build credibility through thoughtful product design.