VTI Thank You — Internal Gratitude Gamification App
Designing a gratitude app that sparked 3,000+ thank you letters in 3 weeks
ROLE
UX UI Designer
TIMELINE
Dec 2025 - Jan 2026
MY LANE
User flows, wireframing, visual design, AI-generated illustrations
CONTEXT
VTI Thank You is an internal gamification web app designed to spread gratitude across VTI Group during the end-of-year season leading up to Tết. Initiated by the Internal Communications team, the goal was to reinforce VTI's 8 core culture values and boost workplace appreciation among 1,800+ employees through a fun, interactive experience.
I joined as the sole designer, partnering closely with Internal Comms to shape the concept and with the dev team to ship the product in just one month — from first brainstorm to live launch.
CHALLENGES
Designing this app came with a mix of constraints and creative ambition:
Tight timeline — 1 month from concept to live launch, including brainstorming, design, development, and testing
Evolving scope — Requirements shifted frequently, requiring constant iteration and design proposals
High engagement bar — The app had to feel fun and game-like, not like another corporate intranet tool
Company-wide reach — Built for 1,800+ employees across multiple offices, with no room for friction
Design Process
With only one month to go from idea to launch, there was no room for a traditional design process. Instead, I moved fast and shaped the product as we went.
Mapping the experience first
After gathering the brief from Internal Comms, I drafted a complete app map to identify every screen, flow, and decision point. This gave me and the dev team a shared blueprint from day one — aligning us on scope before design began.
From scrolling website to vertical game layout
Requirements kept shifting — campaign rules, reward logic, content scope. And the biggest issue came early, cause me to rethink the entire approach.
The first direction was a scroll-based website — but that was the problem. Employees already have plenty of corporate sites to ignore. It had to feel like a game, not another internal tool. So I shifted to a vertical, no-scroll dashboard where everything lives on one screen.
The shift unlocked four things at once:
Zero friction — no scrolling fatigue, no hunting for information
Game feel, not website feel — reinforces the campaign's playful, rewarding tone
Higher engagement — the interface reads as an event, not a task
Snapshot clarity — progress, leaderboard, and next action are always in view
Giving each culture value its own identity
VTI has 8 core culture values — each one needed to feel distinct and collectible. I tried flat shapes, gradients, and icons, but none felt alive enough.
So I pushed further. Using AI tools (Nano Banana, Loveart.ai), I generated custom illustrations until the cards felt vibrant and unmistakably themed — becoming the centerpiece employees came back for.
Creating social momentum
First-time users needed a nudge. Seeing others participate is the fastest way to lower that barrier.
A live feed of recent thank you messages sits front and center — proof that the campaign is alive, and an open invitation to join in.
Keeping employees coming back
One send wasn't enough. The campaign needed a reason to return — every day, every week.
I designed a progress card to turn the reward into a visible goal — dual counters, medal tiers, and a weekly reset timer. Every gap becomes a nudge to keep going.
I added a lucky draw unlocked by sending and receiving thank you letters, with progress always visible on the right sidebar.
A weekly leaderboard added friendly competition. Seeing your name climb — or watching a teammate pass you — turned participation into a shared rhythm across the company.
Final Look
Homepage
The main dashboard where users send thank you letters, view their progress, and see the campaign come to life in real time.
A clear breakdown of how the campaign works — the 3 steps to participate, the 8 culture values, and how to unlock the lucky draw.
Unlocked after completing the weekly sending and receiving goals — the payoff that keeps players chasing the next round.
A weekly ranking of top senders and receivers, turning individual gratitude into a company-wide moment of recognition.
A personal archive of every thank you letter sent, received, and saved as draft — with a detailed view to revisit each message and the value card it came with.
The Product
A personal archive of every thank you letter sent, received, and saved as draft — with a detailed view to revisit each message and the value card it came with.
Results
A simple idea — say thank you — turned into a company-wide moment
100% division coverage — every team across VTI had employees participate
~70% individual participation — roughly 1,260 of 1,800+ employees joined
3,000+ thank you letters sent in the first 3 weeks
