Certified Pre-Owned on Reverb
The Team
Product Manager: Bill Ryan
Web Developer: Lucia Jara
App Developer: Leo Durazo (iOS), Matt Thompson (Android)
Client
Reverb, Decide Team
Project URL
Overview
Reverb and Fender recently partnered on their first official Certified Pre-Owned shop. This marked Reverb’s first foray into offering Certified Pre-Owned gear, and as such, we needed a trust and value signal to pepper among web and app properties.
I worked with the Product Design team to develop an icon to signify trust and authority, and then expanded it into two wordmarks. We chose a strategic branded color for the icon, stress tested brand logos for potential expansion, and strategized when, where, and why these new assets would show up in the product.
While Engineering was confidently moving forward with the designs, I facilitated a collaboration between Product and Marketing, developing a page to both educate our users to the program benefits and curate a selection of refurbished items.
The Goal
Introduce a net-new program in collaboration with Fender, reinforcing both brands’ commitment to affordably priced gear.
Process
1. Icon Development
To create an icon that conveyed a trustworthy “seal of approval,” we drew inspiration from visual patterns commonly used in the automotive industry. I explored a range of badge and ribbon concepts across different styles, color treatments, and levels of Reverb brand integration. In the first review, the team aligned on a rounded badge form, a checkmark as the trust signal, and the beginnings of a shared color direction.
In the second round, we incorporated Reverb’s primary orange to represent the brand without relying on the logomark. We evaluated how the design performed at various sizes, comparing 8-point and 10-point badge forms and testing whether a stroke improved or hindered legibility. The group ultimately selected an 8-point badge with a checkmark and no stroke, as it maintained the strongest clarity across scales while clearly connecting Reverb with trust.
2. Icon Integration
We then needed to determine not only how the icon would appear alongside supporting text, but also where it should live within both the grid listing card and the item page buy box. I created several mockups to guide discussion with the working group, exploring placements such as integrating the badge into the listing title, incorporating it within the nudge system, replacing the existing condition label, or pairing it with appended “refurbished” terminology. We also discussed whether the full program name could realistically appear on listing cards given space constraints. From this first round, the group aligned on replacing the “Used” condition with “Certified Pre-Owned,” formally establishing certified refurbished gear as its own condition category.
I continued refining solutions using this framework while accounting for potential future expansion of the program. The team explored adding partner brand logos as an additional trust signal, but variability in logo complexity and partner name length created scalability concerns. We ultimately aligned on showing only the badge and “Certified Pre-Owned” label on listing cards, reserving the item page for more detailed program and partner information.
3. Future-proofing
With the listing card resolved, focus shifted to the item page, where we had more space to provide detail. We used this opportunity to pair our certification badge with partner logos and supporting copy. Because partner logos vary widely in proportion and complexity, I established sizing parameters to preserve legibility across brands. By setting a fixed height of 35px and a maximum width of 125px, even narrow or visually dense logos—such as EarthQuaker Devices and Electro-Harmonix—remained recognizable. Although these constraints were not required for the initial Fender Certified Pre-Owned launch, the exercise validated our decision to incorporate external partner logos as scalable trust signals within the experience.
Final Designs
Over the course of three weeks, I stepped in to support a neighboring team, quickly built context to support them during a resource gap, developed a new icon and supporting system with accompanying copy, and provided design guidance across web, iOS, and Android implementation. Product initiatives rarely move this quickly, so it was energizing to draw on my marketing and startup experience to rapidly iterate and align around a new program. The resulting designs stand out in search grids, and buyers have since grown to trust the partnership between Reverb and participating brands. Since launching in July 2024, the program has continued to expand.
