As social-distancing eased and people returned to their normal routines, college students struggled to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. We asked ourselves, how might we help undergraduate students discover and maintain friendships in a post-quarantine environment? Our goal was to facilitate the transition from remote life back to in-person activities.
Sep - Dec 2021 (10 weeks)
Research & Exploration:
In order to get a better understanding of how the social lives of our users have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we interviewed four young adults residing in Seattle, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Throughout our interviews we discovered various pain points that our users deal with on a daily basis regarding social interactions post-pandemic.
Additionally, in order to better understand other products with similar intentions, we conducted individual competitive analyses on four different applications. The products we analyzed were Discord, Meetup, Happn, and Tripr, all of which helped us develop a better understanding of what features we want to include in our final product.
Methods
Interviews
Competitive Analysis
Sample Sizes
4 UW Students
4 Social Meetup Platforms
User Groups
Classmates
Personal Friends
Tools Used
Miro
Google Docs
Call for
Established-based COVID Safety Protocol
COVID Safety
Interviewees had concerns about the safety of hanging out at specific locations during and post pandemic.
Call for
Connect users with similar interests
Social Anxiety
Interviewees stated that there is more anxiety surrounding social interactions and their awkwardness.
Call for
Connecting users via sharable photo albums
Instagram Worthy
Interview participants expressed under normal conditions they look for 'instagrammable' content.
Call for
Upload schedules to share with each other
Maintaining Friendships
Interview participants exclaimed they struggled to maintain friendships and social circles during the pandemic.
User Journey Map
After completing our research, creating personas, and imaging what a typical user would be like, we started thinking of different scenarios in which our users would interact with our application. Our journey map showcases the user’s thought process, emotions, touch-points, and experience using our app.
Information Architecture
Building off of our research findings, we worked together to create a diagram of interactions based on several design requirements for our final product. Amongst these requirements were allowing users to create profiles based on their interests, connecting users with similar interests via "bucket lists," and informing users of COVID regulations at places of interest.
Wireframes
Once we finalized our app's flow and features, we began designing its low-fidelity prototype to highlight three key functionalities:
A swipe feature for “liking” destinations users want to visit.
A bucket list to track desired locations.
A shared photo album for users.
Usability Testing & Feedback
Using low-fidelity prototypes, we conducted usability tests with four participants: two UW graduates (an HR professional, a UX designer) and two juniors studying Electrical Engineering and Microbiology. Each team member observed user interactions and noted pain points during pre-observation interviews, task walkthroughs, and post-observation discussions.
Key Learnings
Swipe Feature Lacks Intuition
Users found the swipe feature unintuitive without tutorials, associating it with dating apps.
Suggestions included replacing swiping with a “save to bucket list” button or adding a toggle between a “friends-only” mode and an “explore” mode.
One-on-One Matching Felt Intimidating
While users liked the idea of connecting with others over shared interests, being matched with one unfamiliar person felt awkward, especially for users who identify as introverts.
Group matching was suggested to make the experience more comfortable. Showing mutual friends within the app was also proposed to encourage first-time meetings.
Dating App Associations
The matching mechanism resembled Tinder, which could attract users seeking romantic relationships rather than friendships.
Users suggested a system where people could favorite locations or events, creating a shared pool of attendees to coordinate with instead.
Final Compositions
For the final step in our design process we created high-fidelity mockups, refining our wireframes based on usability testing until we were satisfied with the final color scheme, fonts, and other stylistic elements. We removed the swiping feature, instead choosing to prioritize the bucket list and exploration features to encourage users to connect with friends and create new memories.
Results & Reflection
Over ten weeks our team designed an app aimed at helping college students rebuild social bonds in a post-COVID world. First, we conducted user research to uncover insights into what University of Washington students seek in social meet-up apps. Next, we developed user personas, an interaction journey map, and essential design requirements to guide our process.
After brainstorming and structuring our information architecture, we built an initial low-fidelity prototype. Usability testing with our target demographic allowed us to identify pain points and refine our designs. Ultimately, we transformed those early prototypes into polished, high-fidelity mockups that brought our vision to life.
While we’re proud of our final product, more time for usability testing with a larger user group could further validate and enhance our work. Personally, after removing the swiping feature I would like to iterate further on our mechanism for matching, and further develop this aspect in a way that doesn't remind our users of a dating app. Our biggest challenge was designing for a broad audience while simultaneously balancing simplicity and inclusivity.
What surprised us most was how many creative features we were able to generate as a team. Our collaborative energy drove us to push boundaries and iterate on new ideas, making this project very rewarding. Overall we’re excited to carry forward the skills and lessons learned from this experience as we continue designing impactful solutions for real-world problems.
