Dana SaltounLet’s talk

2025

Clutch

Every gift card you forgot you had, finally together

  • UX/UI
  • User research

All your gift cards together, and a way to swap the ones you’ll never use.

  • MediumDigital
  • RoleResearch, UX and UI
  • ContextCourse project
  • TeamThree people

At the till

We all know the moment. The queue behind you growing, the cashier waiting patiently, and you’re losing time hunting for the code to the holiday voucher you got from work. At best you find it after five minutes. At worst you discover it expired yesterday.

The problem

Nothing collects them.

Vouchers arrive by email, as paper credit notes, as SMS codes, as plastic in a wallet. Nothing collects them, so nothing reminds you they exist.

Pain points

  • Scattered

    A Zara credit, a McDonald’s coupon, a holiday voucher. No inbox collects them.

  • Invisible

    Almost nobody knows what the pile is worth in total.

  • Perishable

    Forgotten cards expire, and nothing warns you before they do.

Research

The survey

71people answered

Survey, n=71 · One depth interview · Ages 16 to 60+, concentrated 21 to 40

Four things came back consistently.

No sense of what you’re holding, a redemption process that goes wrong in public at the till, no way to know where a card is accepted, and cards that go unused rather than get traded.

70%
receive 1 to 3 cards a year
39%
have had one expire on them
42%
say staying organised matters a great deal
4%
say it doesn’t matter at all

What the interview showed

  • No control over what you hold

    He can’t remember what he has, how much is left, or where it can be used. Managing it in WhatsApp groups is dedicated but not useful.

  • Redeeming is uncomfortable

    He has to ask the seller what is left, check whether it combines with offers, and confirm the voucher still works at that place.

  • No way to know where it works

    Which businesses accept it, and what the limits are, isn’t in one place. Every use costs time and searching.

  • A wish to swap

    Cards arrive that don’t suit him. There’s no comfortable way to convert or exchange them, so they go unused.

What the survey settled

Most people who answered don’t have enough control over their gift cards, and it matters to them. There’s no single way to manage them. Many have had one expire. And almost nobody has ever swapped one, except with friends and family.

The solution

Every card in one place.

Clutch holds every card in one place and shows what is actually left on each. Redemption takes a few taps at the till. Cards that don’t suit you can be swapped, and neither side sees a name.

  • Email
  • Credit note
  • SMS
  • Wallet
ClutchOne place for every gift card you forgot you had
  1. What is actually leftSee it ↓
  2. A few taps at the tillSee it ↓
  3. Swapped, no namesSee it ↓

User flow

Home screen

  • Total balance of everything you hold
  • Add a gift card or store credit
  • Your special one-place vouchers
  • Every card you’ve added
  • Swap anonymously with other users
  • Search by product or store
  • Profile details

  1. Add a card

    1. Tap the add button
    2. Two ways inScan the barcodeType the serial number
    3. Card addedConfirmation

    Returns home

  2. My cards

    1. Every card you’ve addedExpiryBalanceCard typeAdd to swap list
    2. Show me moreBrowse allFilter

    Returns home

  3. Special vouchers

    1. Vouchers tied to one placeExpiryWhere to redeemAmount
    2. Open a voucherTermsCode or barcode

    Returns home

  4. Search by store

    1. Search by product or store
    2. Search fieldStore or productKeyboard opens
    3. Stores you can pay atFiltered by what you hold
    4. Tap a store
    5. Cards that matchTerms of use
    6. Redemption codeCode or barcode

    Returns home

  5. Swap

    1. Tap swap
    2. Set it upAdd a card to swap listFilter by range
    3. Options you can swap for
    4. Offer a swap
    5. Request sentNotification
    6. Matched, or not

    Returns home

  6. Profile

    1. Profile details

    Returns home

Wireframes

  1. Wireframe
    Wireframe of the home screen: the balance ring and a row of special vouchers
    Final
    The finished home screen: the balance ring and the list of brands

    The home screen

  2. Wireframe
    Wireframe: choosing which of your cards to swap, with a range slider
    Final
    The finished screen: step one of two, choosing which voucher to swap

    Choosing a voucher

  3. Wireframe
    Wireframe: choosing the card to get in return
    Final
    The finished screen: step two of two, choosing what to trade it for

    What to trade it for

1 / 3

Key decisions

What is actually left

Almost nobody knows what the pile is worth.

What is actually left
The home list with BUYME opened: four codes and the amount left on each

Dana The home list, with one brand opened.

The Clutch home screen: the balance ring and the list of brands, BUYME opened

A few taps at the till

Redemption takes a few taps at the till.

A few taps at the till
A FOOT LOCKER code, ready to scan, with its expiry date

Dana A redemption code at the till.

The store screen with the FOOT LOCKER code open over it

Swapped, no names

Neither side sees a name.

Swapping barely happens today, and where it does, it happens between friends and family. Strangers trading value needed to feel safe, so we made the swap anonymous and mediated rather than social.

Swapped, no names
The swap summary: the voucher given, and the two received for it

Dana Both sides of the trade, before anything is committed.

The swap summary screen, with the request sent

The anonymous swap

  1. 01 The requests screen
    The swap requests screen: requests sent and received, with their status
  2. 02 Choosing a voucher
    Step one of two: choosing which voucher to swap
  3. 03 What to trade it for
    Step two of two: choosing what to trade it for
  4. 04 The summary
    The summary of the swap before it is sent
1 / 4

The interface

  1. One brand opened
    The home screen: the balance ring, and BUYME opened in the list
  2. By category
    Browsing by category
  3. The empty state
    The empty state, when nothing you hold can pay in that category
  4. A code at the till
    A redemption code at the till
1 / 4

Typography

A clean sans-serif that reads easily and doesn’t compete for attention. Its even weight carries order, which is what a product about regaining control should feel like.

Colour

It comes from the gift card logos. Twenty brands arrive at once, each with its own palette. So we did the opposite of the category: no loud brand colour competing for space. Navy for structure, greys, off-white. The screen stays calm and the cards read instantly.

  • Primary

    #012037

  • Accent

    #1E5C8A

  • Secondary

    #A4B9C8

  • Surface

    #EDEDED

  • Background

    #F6F6F6