UI
UX
research
Designing a friendship app to address loneliness in cities
UI
UX
research
Designing a friendship app to address loneliness in cities
Connecter is a mobile app concept designed to combat urban loneliness by pairing interest-based event discovery with friend matching and conversation prompts.
PROBLEM
People who move to new cities struggle to form genuine friendships outside of work and mutual connections, and existing solutions fail to reduce the social anxiety and logistical overwhelm that prevent them from taking the first step toward building community.
Solution
After conducting user interviews and competitive analysis that revealed people connect more easily around shared interests, I designed Connecter — a mobile app that removes the friction of meeting new people by combining curated local events, interest-based friend matching, and built-in conversation prompts into a single, approachable experience.
Role
UX/UI Designer, Researcher
My Focus
Affinity mapping
Feature prioritization
Iterative usability testing
Prototyping
UI design
Tools
Figma, Miro, Maze
Connecter is a mobile app concept designed to combat urban loneliness by pairing interest-based event discovery with friend matching and conversation prompts.
PROBLEM
People who move to new cities struggle to form genuine friendships outside of work and mutual connections, and existing solutions fail to reduce the social anxiety and logistical overwhelm that prevent them from taking the first step toward building community.
Solution
After conducting user interviews and competitive analysis that revealed people connect more easily around shared interests, I designed Connecter — a mobile app that removes the friction of meeting new people by combining curated local events, interest-based friend matching, and built-in conversation prompts into a single, approachable experience.
Role
UX/UI Designer, Researcher
My Focus
Affinity mapping
Feature prioritization
Iterative usability testing
Prototyping
UI design
Tools
Figma, Miro, Maze
A quick look at the final product
A quick look at the final product
On-boarding
Event registration
Messaging
On-boarding
Event registration
Messaging
Research
Conducting user interviews to get to the core of the problem
I conducted user interviews to help me better understand what was holding people back from connecting with others in their city, what would make a someone want use a product that helps them connect with others, and identify any other needs that a user might have when meeting new people.
Research
Conducting user interviews to get to the core of the problem
I conducted user interviews to help me better understand what was holding people back from connecting with others in their city, what would make a someone want use a product that helps them connect with others, and identify any other needs that a user might have when meeting new people.
Participants ages ranged from 24-32
Working professionals currently living in a city
Had specific hobbies that they participated in alone
Expressed desire to expand their friend groups
Participants ages ranged from 24-32
Working professionals currently living in a city
Had specific hobbies that they participated in alone
Expressed desire to expand their friend groups
Uncovering underlying themes
Pre-pandemic, most users met new friends through mutual friends or work.
Users value having a common interest with friends who they can then share experiences with.
Users wanted a more efficient way to connect with friends that wouldn’t drain their energy.
Most users were comfortable starting conversations with people online and found it even easier if they already knew they had a common connection/interest.
Uncovering underlying themes
Pre-pandemic, most users met new friends through mutual friends or work.
Users value having a common interest with friends who they can then share experiences with.
Users wanted a more efficient way to connect with friends that wouldn’t drain their energy.
Most users were comfortable starting conversations with people online and found it even easier if they already knew they had a common connection/interest.
Ideation
How might we help people connect with others based on their common interests?
Ideation
How might we help people connect with others based on their common interests?
I started by sketching out some initial ideas on what could go into a product to solve for this problem.
I started by sketching out some initial ideas on what could go into a product to solve for this problem.
Based on ideas from these sketches and a task analysis of a competitor, I created a feature prioritization 2x2 matrix to help decide on the minimum viable product (MVP).
Based on ideas from these sketches and a task analysis of a competitor, I created a feature prioritization 2x2 matrix to help decide on the minimum viable product (MVP).
After narrowing down the features of the product I wanted to focus on, I created a user flow to better understand the path that a user would take to connect and talk with another person.
After narrowing down the features of the product I wanted to focus on, I created a user flow to better understand the path that a user would take to connect and talk with another person.
design
Sketching & Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Once I had a better idea of an ideal user flow, I sketched out my ideas and created low fidelity wireframes. I decided on creating a mobile app because it’s a platform that the target audience would be comfortable with and be most intuitive for messaging.
design
Sketching & Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Once I had a better idea of an ideal user flow, I sketched out my ideas and created low fidelity wireframes. I decided on creating a mobile app because it’s a platform that the target audience would be comfortable with and be most intuitive for messaging.
Testing & iterating the initial designs
Based on the low-fi wireframes, I created a usability test plan and conducted 5 interviews in order to better understand how users would interact with the app and refine my design.
These were the results and changes made based on the testing:
Design system
I created a basic design system to use as a jumping off point for the visual designs of the app. I wanted to keep it friendly, inviting and optimistic to speak to the nature of the product and the target users.
Testing & iterating the initial designs
Based on the low-fi wireframes, I created a usability test plan and conducted 5 interviews in order to better understand how users would interact with the app and refine my design.
These were the results and changes made based on the testing:
Design system
I created a basic design system to use as a jumping off point for the visual designs of the app. I wanted to keep it friendly, inviting and optimistic to speak to the nature of the product and the target users.
design
The high fidelity designs
After another round of usability testing, I made some additional tweaks and upped the fidelity of the prototype. The next steps for the project include additional usability testing and branding for the overall app.
design
The high fidelity designs
After another round of usability testing, I made some additional tweaks and upped the fidelity of the prototype. The next steps for the project include additional usability testing and branding for the overall app.
