Serge Vasil — Experience Designer From San Francisco
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Designing Hotspot Shield for 15M users

As Head of Design at Pango, I led the design of Hotspot Shield — the company’s flagship VPN with over 15M monthly active users. I built and scaled the design org, defined product and brand strategy, and drove 0→1 launches across mobile and desktop, transforming Hotspot Shield into a mainstream consumer security product with multiple monetization models.

 

Designing Hotspot Shield for 15M users

 
 
 
 

Context

VPNs were traditionally niche, complex tools. Our challenge was to redesign Hotspot Shield into an approachable, high-trust product that could scale to tens of millions of users while supporting ad-supported, freemium, and premium subscription models.

 
 

Goal

Rebrand & a holistic redesign of the Hotspot Shield app on all platforms to align with the company mission and for better conversion, retention & LTV.

 
 
 
 

Approach

I directed the design org to balance simplicity with depth: intuitive onboarding for first-time users, consistent cross-platform design (iOS, Android, desktop, web), and a brand identity that signaled both privacy and mainstream appeal. I partnered with product and engineering leads to create a design system that accelerated delivery while ensuring consistency across surfaces.

 
 
 
 

Execution

I oversaw end-to-end design across product UX, brand identity, and marketing creative. This included redesigning the core app experience, introducing subscription and monetization flows, and unifying visual language across platforms. By embedding research and rapid iteration, we ensured design decisions drove measurable impact on engagement and retention.

 
 
 
 

Results

Hotspot Shield reached 15M+ MAUs and became one of the most recognized VPNs worldwide. The redesigned onboarding reduced churn, the multi-model monetization strategy expanded revenue streams, and the product earned industry recognition for usability and trust. These successes positioned Pango as an attractive acquisition target and validated design as a key growth driver.