Researcher & Designer
Feb '25 - May '25
Overview
From my own personal experiences with not having friends to go to concerts with, an Idea for a social networking platform designed for making new friends and building platonic relationships was born.
By applying the design process, I conceptualized a social networking solution for platonic connection.
I wanted to attend a concert but couldn’t find any friends who were available to join me. I remember wishing there were an app, or even a feature on Ticketmaster, that could match people who were also going solo, like a built-in buddy system. That moment sparked the concept, which I later developed into an app designed to help people meet new friends, whether for casual hangouts or building lasting platonic relationships.
Understanding the user's context
I conducted a survey to better understand the challenges people face when making new friends outside of familiar environments like work or school, and to move beyond my own assumptions about what activities people prefer not to do alone. I also wanted to explore the contexts in which strangers might feel comfortable meeting up for shared activities.
The qualitative data revealed indirect behaviors and patterns in how people attempt to form new friendships.
I organized responses from 20 participants into an empathy map to pinpoint those needs more clearly.
Analyzing the Solution Landscape
Gathering an understanding of the current solution landscape for platonic connections. Discover the missing opportunities for innovation.
User's Needs & Motivations
From discovery research data, my synthesis suggests that my design strategy should be focused on the following:
Fostering Meaningful Connections
Highlighting similar interests when pairing potential matches.
Security Measures
Verification systems to help reduce bot activity
Goal Oriented Connection
Making it easy for users to find someone to join them for a particular task.
Using personas to inform Ideation
Based upon my user research synthesis, I created two representations of who would be the typical users of the POS system.
Wireframing Ideas & Structure
I designed a wireframe based on user needs for a platonic social networking app. I began by conceptualizing the core features, then built out the primary pages around them. Then I conducted a scenario based usability test.
Testing Results
During testing, I observed that some users struggled with the wording and placement of page titles. Maybe their confusion stemmed from the way we naturally scan content based on perceived importance and/or what takes precedent, this led to uncertainty at the start of the test scenarios.
Going Forward
Testing revealed that the final concept needs a clearer distinction between the app’s core objectives: finding nearby activities and building meaningful connections.
Version 1
While developing the high-fidelity prototype, I encountered two key issues: the visual design closely resembled Hinge, making it feel like a friends only version of their dating app; and the Location feature failed to clearly convey that users could connect with others nearby for shared activities.
Version 2
To foster a stronger sense of community, I redesigned the Locate feature to be more literal: using a map to show active users nearby. The updated aesthetics take a more open and innovative approach, setting the experience apart from existing solutions.
Version 2 Testing Results
Using the same testing procedures for the wireframe, I conducted a within subjects usability test using the UXTweak Software. I then used the participant data to direct more design changes and considerations.
Users struggled to find profiles meeting the target criteria. Heat map data showed that they started with the top bar menu, so I added age range in the expanded top bar to match users natural scanning patterns.
Final Changes
FriendThere, a better way to make friends
The app’s core goal is to connect people seeking meaningful friendships or nearby activities, so I designed a conceptual flow for how those experiences would unfold.
Subscription Model
I chose a traditional matchmaking app monetization strategy but tweaked it for the Locate tab’s map results by setting a premium on expanding the search radius. The gradients CTAs visually signifies the premium experience that awaits.
Onboarding Process
I designed a comprehensive onboarding process that follows standard account creation steps and concludes with an option for new users to verify their account.
