Distinct Daily
Social Media Platform
DISTINCTDAILY is a creative platform connecting and supporting an active, ever-growing, network of creative minds -- providing a place to share work, inspirations, & aspirations with a wider audience.
Gene is an extremely talented architect who has the unique blend of possessing engineering saavy and design know-how. Prior to working with him, I searched far and wide; it turned out to be advantageous to my company to have waited and finally have the opportunity to work with him. The platform he created on my behalf speaks for itself...Gene allowed me to realize and bring forth my digital vision.
Roles
- Development
- Management
- Strategy
- UX
Background
When I came on board, the concept of Distinct had been years in the making, but the company had suffered a few false starts with the underlying technology. The initial product had been developed without the foresight of the larger technical strategy needed to fully support the company's business goals.
The vision of the founder was to create a social media space that would provide inspirational proprietary content as well as give creatives a platform to promote their work through social sharing and creative challenges.
Strategy
We started with a full reboot- held workshops to outline goals and develop strategy. We developed a prototype which was shared with potential investors, clients, and users. With insights from the prototype, we began production on the initial platform.
Production
I developed the initial iOS app and Django-based API backend and CMS; and oversaw front-end development. We completed the initial platform within a 10-month timeline.
Once the product was live and we began to scale, I hired a larger product team to develop the product.
The product team was close-knit and highly collaborative. We were responsible for the entire process of understanding business goals, ideating on solutions, and implementing them within the platform . We worked iteratively (loosely in what you would call an agile methodology) through phases of strategy, design, prototyping, and development. We were able to quickly pivot and implement minimally viable implementations in response to changing business goals and investment opportunities.
Success
The platform has been well received. Only 2 years old, the platform is a feature-rich experience. User growth has been consistent and relatively fast for a new and unknown social network. It continues to grow.
Distinct was a sponsor at LA><ART's 10 Year Anniversary Benefit Auction, which raised over $800,000 in support of the nonprofit’s commitment to exhibitions and public art initiatives. Distinct was also a sponsor at RSDI & Brown University's the annual Better World by Design conference - providing a $5,000 student scholarship.