Hirebird Case Study
A VC-backed NYC hiring app. Two sides of a marketplace. One design system to rule them. (The startup closed - the design still holds up.)
Sam’s feedback
We've used half a dozen designers in the past, these guys are absolutely the best. We always come back to WeRoast. Fast, professional and they pay attention to the details that matter.
Branding
Product
Website
Building Both Sides of a Marketplace
Job platforms have a problem that most products don't: you're designing for two completely different humans who want completely different things, inside the same product.
Hirebird was a VC-backed job application app out of NYC. The idea was sharp. The challenge was sharper: build an experience that works for employers posting and evaluating candidates and candidates applying and presenting themselves - without either side feeling like the product was built for the other.
We took on the full creative stack. Brand design that could carry across both sides of the marketplace. Candidate-side app that felt human and encouraging, not clinical. Employer-side app that felt powerful and efficient, not overwhelming. Web app modules that connected the two. A website that sold the vision. And Framer development to bring it all live.
Two Audiences, One Design Language
The trap most marketplace products fall into is designing the employer side like enterprise software and the candidate side like a consumer app. You end up with a product that feels like two different companies stitched together.
We approached it differently. We built a single design system flexible enough to serve both audiences - same visual DNA, different interaction patterns. The employer side got density and power tools. The candidate side got clarity and guidance. Both felt like Hirebird.
Every mini-module we designed for the web app had to answer one question: does this make the user's next action obvious? For employers reviewing 50 candidates, that means fast scanning and quick decisions. For candidates submitting their first application, that means zero confusion about what happens next.
An Honest Ending
Hirebird closed. Startups do that.
We're including this case study anyway - not in spite of the outcome, but because of what it shows. We don't only showcase wins. We showcase work. The design was strong. The product thinking was strong. The execution was thorough. A startup's survival depends on a hundred variables that have nothing to do with design quality.
What we built for Hirebird was the best version of what Hirebird could have been, visually and experientially. That's the job. The market decides the rest.
