Square, Block Inc.
Square Backup
Defining the future of restaurant resilience through a design-led hardware vision.
The Context
An engineer-led reliability initiative with shifting leadership and 3 PM changes. Sellers feared operational collapse during outages, and the existing solution asked them to repurpose their own hardware through a lengthy technical configuration.
My Contributions
- UX Content Strategy
- Research Partnership
- Vision Prototyping
- Cross-functional Leadership
They don't want to know how it works. They just need it to work.
Phase 1: Alpha
The stakes
Restaurant sellers feared losing the ability to take orders during an outage. The number one need: confidence that operations would continue without disruption.
"I can't afford to stop taking orders during lunch rush."
Research participant, restaurant owner
The insight
Content lived across banner states, the KDS, and throughout setup steps. The core research finding was clear: sellers didn't want to read anything. They didn't want to know or care about the technology. They just wanted to click buttons and get it working.
Beyond the Alpha: Collaborating on a vision.
Alpha testing proved that solving for reliability in software wasn't enough to solve for seller anxiety. I partnered with two designers in a vision sprint to move beyond 15-step setups and toward the 'Square Backup'—a physical device that represented safety.
Phase 2: Vision Sprint
The pitch
Our team of three cleared calendars for a week-long design sprint to define the long-term vision. I focused on prototyping the hardware setup experience, using AI-assisted tools to bring a Square-branded router concept to life. The goal: move from "repurpose your own hardware" to "the Square Backup."
Invisible reliability
The Square Backup is the embodiment of the core research insight: sellers shouldn't even know the tech is there. When backup activates, it should be silent and seamless. No configuration, no troubleshooting, no reading walls of text during lunch rush.
01
Hardware concept
A physical device that embodies reliability and moves complexity out of software.
02
Setup experience
Moving from a 15-step manual network configuration to a 5-digit hardware handshake.
03
Silent failover
When backup activates, sellers shouldn't notice. Invisible when it works.
04
Brand trust
Square as the safety net—tangible, trustworthy, and effortless.
Designing the Vision
Collaborative design sprint exploring naming, mental models, and the shift from software logic to hardware safety.
Vision Prototype
The proposed strategy centered on a centralized Hub where users could manage network health. By transitioning from a highly involved, manual network configuration to a 5-digit hardware handshake, we aimed to turn technical complexity into a simple moment of human interaction.
01 / THE RELIABILITY HUB
02 / THE 5-DIGIT HANDSHAKE
Reflection
This project taught me that the best content design sometimes means designing less content. When sellers are in crisis, every extra word is friction. The work was messy, fast, and constantly shifting — but that's where content strategy earns its value: making complexity feel simple
The Outcome
What started as a scrappy reliability project became a company initiative. The vision was presented to the Head of Design and adopted into the long-term offline capabilities strategy.
Alpha
Shipped to initial sellers
Vision
Adopted by leadership
Initiative
Became company priority