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Complex Community

Complex Community is a loyalty program that allows members to earn points through purchases and social engagement

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ROLE
Product Designer

CLIENT
Complex Media

TEAM
Head of Product
Head of Design
Head of Content
Sr. Product Manager
Product Designer

METHODS
Problem Definition
User Interviews
Surveys 
Wireframes & Prototyping

A new destination for streetwear fans

I partnered with Complex during its acquisition by NTWRK to define a 0-1 loyalty strategy for a unified shopping app, which integrates e-commerce with editorial content catered to their existing audience of streetwear fans. 

I researched, designed, and presented a 0-1 loyalty and community prototype to the Complex leadership team. Insights influenced Complex's decision to prioritize community and engagement with editorial on the roadmap.

THE PROBLEM 

Designing loyalty for a culture-driven editorial brand entering commerce
 

Complex wanted to create a loyalty program for customers. They also wanted to:
 

  1. Integrate shopping and editorial experiences

  2. Increase repeat visits beyond high-heat drops

  3. Improve purchase intent for low-heat products

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Hypothesis: Rewarding engagement alongside spend would give fans more reasons to return beyond drops and spend-only rewards 

The community layer served three purposes:​

  • Recognize cultural contribution alongside spend

  • ​Increase repeat visitation outside of drops

  • Capture first-party intent signals to improve mid-tier product discovery
     

SOLUTION

Spend, Engage, Earn
 

I introduced a points-based loyalty system that rewarded:

  • ​Purchase behavior (spending)

  • Editorial engagement (reading, commenting)

  • Community contribution (posting to a newsfeed)
     

Users can gift credits to other users as digital props – they function as social currency inside the community with real redemption value. Earned and gifted credits can be redeemed for rewards like early access, discounts, brand events, sample sales, and free shipping.
 

Internet points worth more than just social currency
 

  • 13 participants interviewed

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  • Participants were from Complex Discord

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  • ​1 follow-up survey

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Participants from the Complex Discord

13 participants interviewed

1 survey via Google Forms

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RESEARCH

Brand loyalty is dead, yet culture persists
 

Research showed that streetwear fans tend to buy from whichever platform sells their desired product the cheapest and fastest, and are skeptical of their data being used.

Traditional points programs that reward spend fail to build the sort of attachment that qualifies as a competitive moat. True loyalty is emotional and irrational. 

Yet, Complex has an engaged audience who regularly consumes their cultural content through multiple surfaces – online editorial, social media, TV shows, and pop up events. The engagement to Complex and streetwear is already there, the question is how to harness it. 
​

FOR THE STYLE GEEK
Earn points when you shop partner brands and complete surveys

FOR THE COLLECTOR
Attend events to unlock early access to exclusive drops and meetups 
 

 FOR EVERYONE 
Earn and gift points in a community
that rewards conversation
 

After evaluating a few loyalty models, I proposed a system that rewards both spend and cultural participation (e.g., social engagement with editorial articles and a new community newsfeed) to capture early purchase intent signals and increase repeat visits. 

 

EXPLORING OPTIONS

How might we design a loyalty program that rewards cultural participation?
 

PRODUCT @ COMPLEX 
"You bring a collaborative spirit, and your ability to take feedback in real-time is impressive."

DESIGN @ COMPLEX 
"This is great. I'd like to share this with my team."

CONTENT @ COMPLEX 
“This helps us a lot moving forward! Let's continue the conversation."

I presented my research and prototype to the Complex leadership team, who used my insights to inform their efforts and roadmap. We even talked about small experiments we could run.
 

OUTCOMES & LEARNINGS

Pitching it to Complex
 


What's next
Given more time, we would have started validating this concept further with smaller experiments to test retention, reciprocity, and click through to products:
 

  1. A comments section in editorial articles, and prominently featuring comments within articles

  2. An ephemeral comments section tied to high-heat product drops  

  3. Giving users a handful of credits per day to gift on comments they valued
     

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