CineTrade
A prediction market for Bollywood, in a category that did not exist yet.
- Role
- Lead Designer, MVP to launch
- Year
- 2024
- Platform
- Android and web
- Tools
- Figma, Design Systems, Next.js, Framer Motion
- 12KEarly access signups
- 20 wkZero to launch
- 4Designers mentored
- 80+Screens shipped
The problem
There was no category to copy. No competitor to look at, no pattern library, no user who had done this before.
A real money prediction market on Bollywood box office, for a market that had never seen one. Every decision was the first version of that decision.
- No category reference
- Real money compliance
- Live box office data
- Mobile first India
- Gamification at scale
How it went
20 weeks- 01
Strategy
Weeks 1 to 3Defining the product from zero. Mechanics, how it makes money, what compliance would allow.
Product brief - 02
Flows
Weeks 4 to 7Order book, wallet, settlement. The unglamorous parts that decide whether people trust you with money.
Core flows - 03
Design system
Weeks 7 to 14A modular library so four of us could work in parallel without the product drifting apart.
80+ screens - 04
Launch
Weeks 14 to 20Handoff, beta, and the Play Store.
12K signups
The trading engine
Underneath everything is one simple move. Call or put on where a film lands. Blockbuster, super hit, hit. Flop, super flop, disaster.
The market prices each position and real collection data settles it. Simple to explain in a sentence, which is the only reason a first-timer will try it.
- Call and put
- Live box office data
- Sentiment engine
- Wallet and payouts
- Order book
App screens
More than the trade
A trading app on its own is a lonely thing. Quiz mode, a leaderboard and a community feed turned each release into something people did together.
Fans argued about a film, backed the argument, and came back on Friday to find out who was right.
- Quiz mode
- Leaderboard
- Brand rewards
- Community feed
Built and shipped
- 12KEarly access signupsIn the first month
- 20 wkZero to launchStrategy to Play Store
- 80+Screens shippedMobile and dashboard
- 4Designers mentoredReviews and UI quality
A cinematic visual language
- Pure BlackBackground#000000
- Cinematic GoldBrand#E8A800
- Bright GoldActive states#F5B800
- Deep CharcoalCards#1C1C1C
Type: Poppins, Urbanist
We set out to bridge the gap between cinema and its most passionate fans. A place where the magic of films meets the thrill of the market.
The result
Twenty weeks from a blank page to the Play Store, with 12,000 people signed up for early access.
Then India's 2025 rules stopped every real money prediction platform and Cinestox wound down. The product did what it was designed to do. The reason it ended had nothing to do with the work.