All projects

Cairn

Event Planning App Mobile and Web UX Back-office Tooling Design Systems
Role Lead product designer
Platform Mobile and web
Year 2026
The Cairn app on an iPhone tucked into the back pocket of embroidered cream trousers, open on the Eoin and Saoirse Nuptials event page
Overview

Every gathering, from the first invite to the last photo.

I took on the event planning app design for Cairn end to end, from the app hosts and guests carry to a web app for planning at a desk and the back office the Cairn team runs, and one design system covers weddings, birthdays, christenings, team dinners and memorials, so a tribute feels as considered as an RSVP.

Problem

Invites in one app, photos in another.

Hosts juggled group chats for RSVPs, a shared drive for photos and a separate site for tributes. Guests missed updates, photos went missing after the day, and memorials had nowhere gentle to gather messages.

Solution

One page for the whole occasion.

Every event gets one page with invitations, RSVPs, the schedule, tributes and shared albums. Hosts plan on the web or in the app, guests reply from a link, and the Cairn team keeps it all running from one back office.

Design process

  1. 01

    Discovery

    Host and guest interviews Group chat and RSVP audit
    Memorial etiquette research Competitor teardown
  2. 02

    Structure

    One page per event RSVP and reminder rules
    Tribute moderation Packages and add-ons
  3. 03

    Design

    Paper, sage and sand palette Tokens and components
    App, web app and back office Real events and photos
  4. 04

    Handoff

    Clickable prototypes Dev Mode specs
    Accessibility pass Icon and image library
The Cairn app's Your events screen, with a wedding, a team meeting and a 50th birthday, on an iPhone on a wooden tray beside a vase of rosehips Planning and inviting in the Cairn app, from your events, the occasion and the Bronze, Silver or Gold package to the guest list, the invitations and the finished event with its QR code The Cairn design system, with sage, ink, sand and paper colours, Fraunces SemiBold for the logotype and Hanken Grotesk for the interface The day and after in the Cairn app, with the guest event page and its RSVP, the host view, tributes, past events, albums and a shared album to print from The Cairn web app's Your events page, led by Eoin and Saoirse's wedding, on a MacBook on a round wooden side table The Cairn web app, with your events, a guest event page, a shared album, event creation and the tributes page The Cairn back office overview, with revenue, events created, guests invited and the RSVP response rate, on a Studio Display on a dark perforated shelf The Cairn back office, with the overview, the events list, an event's detail, packages, bulk actions and insights A couple's first dance in a barn under string lights, closing the case study with Mike's contact email

Let's collaborate

Mike Lopez © 2026 designed & developed by Mike LopezPrivacy notice GMT+8
All projects

Cairn

Event Planning App Mobile and Web UX Back-office Tooling Design Systems
Role Lead product designer
Platform Mobile and web
Year 2026
The Cairn app on an iPhone tucked into the back pocket of embroidered cream trousers, open on the Eoin and Saoirse Nuptials event page
Overview

Every gathering, from the first invite to the last photo.

I took on the event planning app design for Cairn end to end, from the app hosts and guests carry to a web app for planning at a desk and the back office the Cairn team runs, and one design system covers weddings, birthdays, christenings, team dinners and memorials, so a tribute feels as considered as an RSVP.

Problem

Invites in one app, photos in another.

Hosts juggled group chats for RSVPs, a shared drive for photos and a separate site for tributes. Guests missed updates, photos went missing after the day, and memorials had nowhere gentle to gather messages.

Solution

One page for the whole occasion.

Every event gets one page with invitations, RSVPs, the schedule, tributes and shared albums. Hosts plan on the web or in the app, guests reply from a link, and the Cairn team keeps it all running from one back office.

Design process

  1. 01

    Discovery

    • Host and guest interviews
    • Group chat and RSVP audit
    • Memorial etiquette research
    • Competitor teardown
  2. 02

    Structure

    • One page per event
    • RSVP and reminder rules
    • Tribute moderation
    • Packages and add-ons
  3. 03

    Design

    • Paper, sage and sand palette
    • Tokens and components
    • App, web app and back office
    • Real events and photos
  4. 04

    Handoff

    • Clickable prototypes
    • Dev Mode specs
    • Accessibility pass
    • Icon and image library
The Cairn app's Your events screen, with a wedding, a team meeting and a 50th birthday, on an iPhone on a wooden tray beside a vase of rosehips Planning and inviting in the Cairn app, from your events, the occasion and the Bronze, Silver or Gold package to the guest list, the invitations and the finished event with its QR code The Cairn design system, with sage, ink, sand and paper colours, Fraunces SemiBold for the logotype and Hanken Grotesk for the interface The day and after in the Cairn app, with the guest event page and its RSVP, the host view, tributes, past events, albums and a shared album to print from The Cairn web app's Your events page, led by Eoin and Saoirse's wedding, on a MacBook on a round wooden side table The Cairn web app, with your events, a guest event page, a shared album, event creation and the tributes page The Cairn back office overview, with revenue, events created, guests invited and the RSVP response rate, on a Studio Display on a dark perforated shelf The Cairn back office, with the overview, the events list, an event's detail, packages, bulk actions and insights A couple's first dance in a barn under string lights, closing the case study with Mike's contact email

Let's collaborate

Mike Lopez
© 2026 designed & developed by Mike Lopez
Privacy notice GMT+8