From Guesswork to Confidence: How Gecko Found Their UX Edge with Userbrain
Dannik, a Product Designer at Gecko Alliance, is part of a team transforming the spa and hot tub industry. Gecko Alliance specializes in manufacturing electronics for spas, including control panels, pumps, lighting, and mobile apps. As the company transitions from a hardware-focused business to a software-driven one, Dannik’s role is critical in ensuring that their user interfaces are intuitive and user-friendly.
“We sell to manufacturers, not directly to customers,” says Dannik. “So for years, we relied on second-hand feedback. We rarely heard from the people actually using our products.”
When Gecko set out to design a new app interface, Dannik knew they couldn’t rely on assumptions.
He needed real user insights—fast.
The Wrong Tool Before the Right One
Dannik started with another user testing platform:
“I spent $500 on credits,” he recalls. “But only three of the 20 testers recorded their audio. Without hearing their thoughts, how could we understand their experience? It was frustrating.”
That’s when he remembered a tool he had used years ago for a personal project: Userbrain.
How Userbrain Supercharged Gecko’s Design Process
“I ran 15 tests with Userbrain,” says Dannik, “and every single one delivered. Clear feedback, real opinions—spoken aloud. It was night and day compared to what I experienced before.”
With Userbrain’s fast setup, tests were running in minutes. Every tester shared their thoughts out loud, providing rich, contextual insights. And thanks to AI-generated insights, Dannik could drop key video clips right into their project Slack chat:
“With Userbrain, I was testing within minutes—not days and every tester recorded their thoughts. That audio is everything! Also the AI insights were fast and spot on. I’d drop clips into our project chat, and my team was like, ‘Wow—this is gold.’”
Then came the moment of truth.
Validating Ideas Before Writing a Single Line of Code
The Gecko team wanted to see how their prototype stacked up against a competitor’s design. They used Userbrain to run a side-by-side competitor user test, framing the experience with a short intro video to simulate the spa environment.
"It was such a small change, but it made the feedback so much richer.”
Testers were asked simple tasks like: “Imagine you want to start the spa—how would you do that?”
The results? Gecko’s interface came out on top. And most importantly: they knew why.
“Before we wrote a single line of code, we had proof. I could show my team the results—real users choosing our interface over the competition..”
How Userbrain Supercharged Gecko’s Design Process
Since adopting Userbrain, Gecko Alliance has made big strides:
- Faster Iteration: Quick feedback lets the team test ideas before writing code—avoiding costly rework.
- Deeper Insights: Audio recordings reveal users’ thoughts in real time.
- Proof Over Opinions: Side-by-side testing with competitors helped validate their UX decisions early.
Userbrain didn’t just help Gecko improve—it helped them validate their work.
“With Userbrain,” says Dannik, “I don’t just believe our design is better. I know it is. And I have the videos to prove it. That’s powerful.”
