Back to Work

Flash Service

A two-sided marketplace where structured proposals replace open chat, turning local-service hiring into a clear, traceable transaction.

Flash Service home screen
Search services
User profile

The Product

A structured local-services marketplace that replaces the guesswork of hiring with clear proposals, location-based matching, and automated contracts, for clients, professionals, and businesses in one platform.

Role

Co-Owner & Product Designer

Timeline

November 2025 - Present

Key Contributions
End-to-End Product DesignSystem ArchitectureUX Research & StrategyMobile UI DesignFrontend & Backend Development
Impact

What this project achieved

What Improved

Replaced WhatsApp-style negotiation with a structured proposal flow that turns scattered chat into traceable, signed contracts.

Why It Matters

Clients hesitate less, professionals stop losing work inside the chat, and every deal carries an owner from match to delivery.

The Problem

Hiring a local service today still relies on word of mouth, scattered directories, and open WhatsApp threads. Clients hesitate, contractors miss work, and nobody owns the deal once it leaves the chat.

Existing marketplaces optimize for search and reviews, but they leave the actual negotiation, scope, price, accountability, off-platform.

Flash Service was an opportunity to design the part everyone skips: a structured agreement layer between client and pro, built into the product instead of bolted onto a chat.

Approach

The Solution

A two-sided marketplace built around structured negotiation. Clients describe what they need, professionals respond with proposals and counter-proposals, and accepted offers turn into signed contracts automatically, no chat threads, no missed details.

How it works:

  • •Request-first matching with location-based discovery
  • •Proposals and counter-proposals replace open-ended chat
  • •Accepted offers generate signed contracts automatically
  • •Contracts can be amended dynamically as scope changes

Structured Negotiation

Auto-Contracts

Multi-Profile System

UX Process Evidence

Platform Redesign

Flash Service underwent a complete redesign across all platforms, modernizing the visual identity and improving usability.

Mobile. Before & After

The redesign modernized the visual language and simplified the home screen to surface key actions faster.

Flash Service Mobile - Before

Before

↓
Flash Service Mobile - After

After

Responsive Web Platform

Flash Service Desktop

Desktop, 1366px

Full-width layout with search, categories, and trust signals for first-time visitors.

Flash Service Tablet

Tablet, 768px

Adapted grid layout preserving all key elements without horizontal scroll.

Key Web Screens

Browse Services

Browse Services

Search, filters, category chips, grid/list/map views

Service Categories

Service Categories

10 categories with professional counts

How It Works

How It Works

Step-by-step onboarding for clients & professionals

Pricing Plans

Pricing Plans

Tiered pricing with monthly/yearly toggle

Core Screens

Key flows from the client-side mobile experience

Service Request Flow

A guided 4-step process to submit a service request

Choose service category
Choose service category
Sub-category selection
Sub-category selection
Describe the issue
Describe the issue
Attach reference photos
Attach reference photos
Set location & urgency
Set location & urgency

Request Management

Track active service requests
Track active service requests
View proposals & status
View proposals & status
In-app negotiation chat
In-app negotiation chat
Full request history
Full request history

Profiles & Communication

Client profile & reviews
Client profile & reviews
Professional portfolio
Professional portfolio
Activity dashboard
Activity dashboard
Smart notifications
Smart notifications
Interactive Preview

Explore the Prototype

Browse the Flash Service app screens and experience the service request flow.

Flash Service 1

1 / 14

Key Product Decisions

Design Decisions

Instead of making clients browse provider listings and compare profiles, we designed a request-first flow where the client describes their need and gets matched automatically, reducing decision fatigue.

Before

Traditional marketplace search with filters, reviews, and manual comparison of service providers.

After

Guided 4-step request submission that matches clients with available contractors automatically.

Outcome

Reduced average time-to-hire from 25 minutes of browsing to under 5 minutes of guided input.

Research revealed many users are both clients and service providers. Rather than forcing separate accounts, we designed a single profile with role switching.

Before

Separate registration and login flows for clients and professionals, duplicating user effort.

After

Unified profile with a simple toggle to switch between client and professional modes within the same account.

Outcome

Eliminated duplicate accounts and enabled seamless role switching, increasing user retention.

Traditional chat leads to ambiguity and disputes. We replaced it with a structured transactional model based on proposals, counter-proposals, and media exchange, making negotiations traceable and clear.

Before

Users exchanged phone numbers and negotiated outside the app, leading to disputes and no accountability.

After

Built-in structured proposal flow with counter-proposals and media sharing, keeping all communication traceable and auditable.

Outcome

Reduced negotiation disputes and created an auditable trail that built trust between parties.

Key Takeaways

  • •Replaced WhatsApp-style negotiation with a structured proposal flow that gave both sides a clear, traceable agreement.
  • •Designed a single account that switches between client, professional, and business roles without leaking data across profiles.
  • •Used location-based matching to cut marketplace noise and surface providers who can actually take the job.
  • •Iterated navigation, scroll, and layout until the marketplace felt production-ready instead of prototype-ready.

Flash Service pushed me past interface work into product thinking, monetization, trust, and operations all at once. The hardest call was choosing structure over the open chat people are used to, knowing it would feel slower at first. I am taking forward the habit of designing the agreement layer, not just the screens around it.

FigmaLovableUX ResearchProduct StrategyMobile UI Systems

Future Improvements

  • Implement real-time GPS tracking for service provider arrival estimates
  • Add an escrow-based payment system to protect both clients and providers
  • Build a review verification system to combat fake ratings and increase trust
  • Introduce subscription tiers for frequent service users with priority matching
  • Expand to support scheduling and recurring service bookings

Let's build something people don't have to think about.

The best products feel obvious. That is what I aim to design.

© Plinio's portfolio 2026