Media B2C Platform
Creating multi-plan experience
Outside is a digital magazine and web platform that covers travel, sports, gear, and fitness and culture of the outdoors. The platform has more than 300 million unique users and over 100 million registered users.
Client
Outside Magazine, US
Services
Product Design UX Research Competitor Research Feasibility Study Collaboration with Developers
Industries
Sports & Outdoors
Date
2025
🚀 Business Need
Outside Magazine offeres two types of access for registered users: limited access to content for free registered users, and one-tier subscription for paid users — Outside+ plan. Outside+ provides full access to the brand’s ecosystem of services, including unlimited articles, a streaming platform with films and documentaries, map and trail apps, and a wide range of other benefits. The Outside platform attracts over 4 million unique visitors per month but only about 2% of them are active Outside+ subscribers and the company’s leadership set a clear objective: increase the total number of subscribers and, in turn, grow recurring revenue.
🔍 Feasibility & Discovery
I started off by analysing subscription-related data in Amplitude, focusing on churn rate and the top reasons users were canceling. The data revealed a relatively high churn rate, with one of the main causes being underutilisation of the full range of Outside+ features. I followed up with a competitive analysis to see how top platforms like The New York Times, Spotify, and Netflix structure their subscription models. It quickly became clear that Outside would benefit from offering more flexible, lower-tier plans to better serve the diverse needs of its audience. To validate this direction, me and my team carried out a feasibility study, assessing: the impact of introducing new plans on the user journey and interface design, the technical complexity and resource requirements (in close collaboration with the dev team), and stakeholder expectations, vision, and business constraints. Based on our analysis, we defined a clear action plan. To ensure a fast rollout with minimal impact on the existing system, we decided to roll out just one lower-tier plan as an MVP — Outside Digital — transitioning from a single-plan model to a two-tier offering with minimal disruption to the existing interface.
👩🏻 My Role
As the Product Designer on the Outside Magazine project , I was responsible for:
Leading Product Discovery with the PM, including competitor analysis and the feasibility study
Facilitating workshops with stakeholders and syncing regularly with the tech team
Creating complete user flows, wireframes, designs and prototypes in Figma, supported by clear documentation
Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams: PMs, Tech Team (Software Engineers), QAs and Product Analysts
Presenting design solutions to the client and gathering actionable feedback
Actively participating in Agile ceremonies (daily meetings, sprint plannings, retros, reviews)
Preparing detailed design specs for developers and supporting the team during implementation (handoff & QA)
✅ Solution & Outcomes
Given the time pressure and need for speed, me and my team focused on a streamlined MVP implementation.
We introduced Outside Digital — a lighter, more accessible subscription tier compared to Outside+. This change expanded the offering from one plan to two, with further improvements planned for future iterations.
To support this launch, we implemented several key updates across the Outside Magazine platform:
Redesigned a paywall, clearly communicating the new plan structure and value
Introduced a blocking modal to hide premium high-tier content for Outside Digital users while encouraging upgrades for Outside+ higher tier
Updated a marketing landing page, reflecting the new two-tier subscription model
Completely rebuilt Subscription Hub within the user account, allowing users to view, compare, and manage their Outside+ or Outside Digital plans
The new Subscription Hub was designed with scalability in mind — setting the foundation for future enhancements like payment management, plan recommendations, and personalised user offers.
Since the new plan launched recently, we're still collecting data — but early results are promising.
Over the first few months, we saw a 7% increase in total subscribers compared to the original base.