Re-imagining Subscription Gifting

Redesigning gifting experience for 8+ Condé Nast brands to drive customer acquisition.

Condé Nast

Info

Every year, tens of thousands of thoughtful customers gift subscriptions to iconic Conde Nast brands- Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, and more. But behind the scenes, a clunky, outdated CDS platform made sending and receiving these gifts far less joyful than it should be. This project was a complete redesign: migrating gift subscriptions for eight brands into our MarTech ecosystem, introducing smarter subscription management and a streamlined, delight-packed experience for gifters and recipients across print, digital, and bundles.

Results

Complete design handover to dev, on track for October 2025 launch

Duration

3 months

Scope

Design, Prototyping, User research, Design System, Technical specs, Cross-team collaboration

Credits

Sonakshi Sharma, Shweta Gupta, Marcella Maltese, Adam Lifshitz, Vishnu MN, Sanjana S, Luke O'Connor

Gaps and Opportunities
Gaps and Opportunities
Gaps and Opportunities
Where Did Gift Subscriptions Fall Short?

01/10

01/10

CDS (Consumer Data Services) powered our gift subscriptions. We partnered with the engineering team to understand CDS technical limitations and MarTech migration opportunities

→ Rigid timing
All gifts automatically start in January, regardless of purchase date


→ Address dependency
Gifters need to know recipient addresses upfront for print or merch delivery, increasing risk of failed deliveries


→ Manual handoffs
Gifters had to forward confirmation emails to recipients themselves


→ Missing data capture
No recipient marketing opt-ins collected, losing valuable user connections


→ Outdated experience
Didn't align with our modern checkout flow or brand standards

→ Rigid timing
All gifts automatically start in January, regardless of purchase date


→ Address dependency
Gifters need to know recipient addresses upfront for print or merch delivery, increasing risk of failed deliveries


→ Manual handoffs
Gifters had to forward confirmation emails to recipients themselves


→ Missing data capture
No recipient marketing opt-ins collected, losing valuable user connections


→ Outdated experience
Didn't align with our modern checkout flow or brand standards

We needed a fundamental rethink of our approach to gifting - one that prioritizes both user empathy and technical feasibility

Build confidence through clear timing and process expectations upfront

Build confidence through clear timing and process expectations upfront

Build confidence through clear timing and process expectations upfront

Enable emotional connection through thoughtful personalization

Enable emotional connection through thoughtful personalization

Enable emotional connection through thoughtful personalization

Minimize cognitive load by only requesting necessary info at optimal moments

Minimize cognitive load by only requesting necessary info at optimal moments

Minimize cognitive load by only requesting necessary info at optimal moments

Reduce friction by breaking complex processes into digestible steps

Reduce friction by breaking complex processes into digestible steps

Reduce friction by breaking complex processes into digestible steps

Deconstructing Great Gifting

02/10

02/10

To understand gifting patterns across the subscription landscape, we analyzed approaches from OTT platforms, digital publications, recurring product services and e-commerce brands.

Challenge and Approach
Challenge and Approach
Challenge and Approach

How might we elevate the gifting experience by adding meaningful personalization and streamlining the journey for both gifters and recipients

How might we elevate the gifting experience by adding meaningful personalization and streamlining the journey for both gifters and recipients

The Strategic Foundation

03/10

We identified three core challenges that needed both strategic clarity and tactical solutions. This framework guided every decision from concept through delivery.

From Transactional to Emotional

Problem

CDS system limited personalization, causing a transactional and impersonal gifting experience.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Send gifts that feel personal with effortless customisation

Recipients:

Feel surprised and connected to the gift rather than confused

Business:

Drive positive Conde Nast brand perception

From Transactional to Emotional

Problem

CDS system limited personalization, causing a transactional and impersonal gifting experience.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Send gifts that feel personal with effortless customisation

Recipients:

Feel surprised and connected to the gift rather than confused

Business:

Drive positive Conde Nast brand perception

From Transactional to Emotional

Problem

CDS system limited personalization, causing a transactional and impersonal gifting experience.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Send gifts that feel personal with effortless customisation

Recipients:

Feel surprised and connected to the gift rather than confused

Business:

Drive positive Conde Nast brand perception

From Friction to Flow

Problem

Rigid start dates, upfront address requirements, and system vulnerabilities created friction and potential for abuse.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Schedule delivery timing and gift confidently without needing recipient info upfront

Recipients:

Provide necessary information with clarity and trust

Business:

Prevent order stacking and self-gifting abuse while enabling smooth gifting flows

From Friction to Flow

Problem

Rigid start dates, upfront address requirements, and system vulnerabilities created friction and potential for abuse.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Schedule delivery timing and gift confidently without needing recipient info upfront

Recipients:

Provide necessary information with clarity and trust

Business:

Prevent order stacking and self-gifting abuse while enabling smooth gifting flows

From Friction to Flow

Problem

Rigid start dates, upfront address requirements, and system vulnerabilities created friction and potential for abuse.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Schedule delivery timing and gift confidently without needing recipient info upfront

Recipients:

Provide necessary information with clarity and trust

Business:

Prevent order stacking and self-gifting abuse while enabling smooth gifting flows

From Clunky to Simple

Problem

Original 5-step one page CDS flow felt tedious. Gifters manually forwarded confirmation emails, creating dependency and risk.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Complete purchases through intuitive journeys with automated delivery

Recipients:

Receive and activate gifts through stress-free redemption

Business:

Reduce abandonment, cut operational support costs

From Clunky to Simple

Problem

Original 5-step one page CDS flow felt tedious. Gifters manually forwarded confirmation emails, creating dependency and risk.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Complete purchases through intuitive journeys with automated delivery

Recipients:

Receive and activate gifts through stress-free redemption

Business:

Reduce abandonment, cut operational support costs

From Clunky to Simple

Problem

Original 5-step one page CDS flow felt tedious. Gifters manually forwarded confirmation emails, creating dependency and risk.

What Success Looks Like

Gifters:

Complete purchases through intuitive journeys with automated delivery

Recipients:

Receive and activate gifts through stress-free redemption

Business:

Reduce abandonment, cut operational support costs

Concepts and Consensus
Concepts and Consensus
Concepts and Consensus
The Gift Crossroads: Plan or Card

04/10

04/10

Should gifters choose the perfect plan, or should recipients decide for themselves? We explored both approaches to find the right balance between technical feasibility, business goals, and user experience.

Route 1: Gift Plans

Route 1: Gift Plans

Route 1: Gift Plans

Gifter selects specific subscription → Personalizes → Recipient receives gift email and activates

Gifter selects specific subscription → Personalizes → Recipient receives gift email and activates

PROS

PROS

  • Leverage existing checkout components → faster to build

  • Proven renewal strategy

  • Lower technical complexity

  • Familiar patterns for users and internal teams

  • Easier redemption flow

CONS

CONS

  • Less recipient choice could reduce satisfaction

  • Gifter needs to know the recipient's preferences

Route 2: Gift Cards

Route 2: Gift Cards

Route 2: Gift Cards

Gifter purchases card with set value → Personalizes → Recipient chooses subscription

Gifter purchases card with set value → Personalizes → Recipient chooses subscription

PROS

PROS

  • Maximum recipient flexibility and choice

  • Potential for higher-value purchases

  • Familiar gift card mental model

CONS

CONS

  • Entirely new technical infrastructure needed

  • Complex redemption flow design

  • Unknown renewal performance

Our Approach: MVG (Minimum Viable Gift)

05/10

05/10

Engineering

Gift Plans can use 70% existing infrastructure. Gift Cards need entirely new payment systems.

Engineering

Gift Plans can use 70% existing infrastructure. Gift Cards need entirely new payment systems.

Engineering

Gift Plans can use 70% existing infrastructure. Gift Cards need entirely new payment systems.

Product

Gift Cards open different opportunities, but Gift Plans have proven renewals. Tight timeline needs predictable outcomes.

Product

Gift Cards open different opportunities, but Gift Plans have proven renewals. Tight timeline needs predictable outcomes.

Product

Gift Cards open different opportunities, but Gift Plans have proven renewals. Tight timeline needs predictable outcomes.

Marketing

Gift Plans fit current campaigns. Gift Cards need new positioning.

Marketing

Gift Plans fit current campaigns. Gift Cards need new positioning.

Marketing

Gift Plans fit current campaigns. Gift Cards need new positioning.

Deciding between gift plans vs. gift cards was not a design call alone. Cross-functional MoSCoW prioritization sessions aligned competing priorities across stakeholders.

Instead of pushing preferences, we asked: What's the smallest experience that still delivers emotional value?

Gift Plans offered the winning combination: rapid development cycle, proven subscriber retention, and room for feature evolution.

Gift Plans offered the winning combination: rapid development cycle, proven subscriber retention, and room for feature evolution.

Flows and Testing
Flows and Testing
Flows and Testing
Gift Subscription Journey

06/10

06/10

Disclaimer: Branded gift card visuals shown are AI-generated for project showcase purposes only—the visual designs to be implemented will be created by the Creative team. Email designs are also for demonstration purposes, with final email templates developed by the Email Ops team.

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

What the User Research Revealed

07/10

07/10

We put our Prototype 1 design to the test with 12 real users to validate our approach and identify areas for improvement.

Methodology

Methodology

• Participants: 12 (6 Gifter Flow + 6 Recipient Flow)

• Platform: usertesting.com

• Study method: Unmoderated online testing

• User Type: Existing subscribers of The New Yorker and people open to digital gifting, from USA

• Participants: 12 (6 Gifter Flow + 6 Recipient Flow)

• Platform: usertesting.com

• Study method: Unmoderated online testing

• User Type: Existing subscribers of The New Yorker and people open to digital gifting, from USA

• Participants: 12 (6 Gifter Flow + 6 Recipient Flow)

• Platform: usertesting.com

• Study method: Unmoderated online testing

• User Type: Existing subscribers of The New Yorker and people open to digital gifting, from USA

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

What Worked

"I thought it was very intuitive, easy, seamless. This is exactly how I would expect a process like this to go. I'm not confused, I'm not fumbling around to give somebody a subscription."

  • Streamlined experience with minimal info required

  • Personalization features appreciated

  • Landing Page gives strong first impression

What Worked

"I thought it was very intuitive, easy, seamless. This is exactly how I would expect a process like this to go. I'm not confused, I'm not fumbling around to give somebody a subscription."

  • Streamlined experience with minimal info required

  • Personalization features appreciated

  • Landing Page gives strong first impression

What Worked

"I thought it was very intuitive, easy, seamless. This is exactly how I would expect a process like this to go. I'm not confused, I'm not fumbling around to give somebody a subscription."

  • Streamlined experience with minimal info required

  • Personalization features appreciated

  • Landing Page gives strong first impression

What Needs improvement

“I'm wondering if this is going to auto-renew and charge me later. I probably needed some reassurance about that”

  • Auto-renewal status needs clarification before purchase

  • Concern on what happens if the recipient already has an active subscription.

What Needs improvement

“I'm wondering if this is going to auto-renew and charge me later. I probably needed some reassurance about that”

  • Auto-renewal status needs clarification before purchase

  • Concern on what happens if the recipient already has an active subscription.

What Needs improvement

“I'm wondering if this is going to auto-renew and charge me later. I probably needed some reassurance about that”

  • Auto-renewal status needs clarification before purchase

  • Concern on what happens if the recipient already has an active subscription.

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

What Worked

"The email looked legitimate and the whole process was quick”

  • Users found the emails trustworthy due to TNY branding and personalization.

  • Overall flow was described as "straightforward" with high confidence ratings

What Worked

"The email looked legitimate and the whole process was quick”

  • Users found the emails trustworthy due to TNY branding and personalization.

  • Overall flow was described as "straightforward" with high confidence ratings

What Worked

"The email looked legitimate and the whole process was quick”

  • Users found the emails trustworthy due to TNY branding and personalization.

  • Overall flow was described as "straightforward" with high confidence ratings

What needs improvement

“I already have a subscription, so I'm not sure how this gift works with what I already have. Maybe I need to change the email?”

  • Confusion about automatic charges to sender or recipient after gift period ends

  • Existing subscribers unsure how gifts merge with current subscriptions

  • Gift expiration dates buried and easily missed during activation

What needs improvement

“I already have a subscription, so I'm not sure how this gift works with what I already have. Maybe I need to change the email?”

  • Confusion about automatic charges to sender or recipient after gift period ends

  • Existing subscribers unsure how gifts merge with current subscriptions

  • Gift expiration dates buried and easily missed during activation

What needs improvement

“I already have a subscription, so I'm not sure how this gift works with what I already have. Maybe I need to change the email?”

  • Confusion about automatic charges to sender or recipient after gift period ends

  • Existing subscribers unsure how gifts merge with current subscriptions

  • Gift expiration dates buried and easily missed during activation

design and delivery
design and delivery
design and delivery
Final MVP

08/10

We delivered responsive designs and detailed design specifications for both gifter and recipient flows, ready for deployment across 8+ Condé Nast brands including Architectural Digest, The New Yorker, and Vogue for the 2025 holiday season.

Improvements based on user testing

Improvements based on user testing

Improvements based on user testing

Reassuring users that the gift will not auto-renew, it is a one-time payment

Reassuring users that the gift will not auto-renew, it is a one-time payment

Reassuring users that the gift will not auto-renew, it is a one-time payment

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

Gifter flow

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

Recipient flow

Designing at Scale- Brandless architecture

09/10

Delivering designs across multiple brands required a systematic approach. Using the Verso design system, we built scalable, brand-agnostic templates where brand identities are applied through mapped tokens rather than hardcoded elements. This brandless architecture ensures consistency while allowing efficient scaling across Conde Nast's brands without rebuilding from scratch.

Wrapping up!
Wrapping up!
Wrapping up!
Key Takeaways from the Journey

10/10

Great MVPs happen when you weave together what engineering can build, what marketing needs to sell, and what users actually want—it's not about cutting features, it's about finding the sweet spot where all three align perfectly.

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