A Seattle-based UX Designer passionate about human-centered experiences, accessible information architecture, & usability testing.
#friendzoned
Meet people. Do stuff.
Imagine.
Finding people in real time near you who share your interests & passions, mutually consider your needs, and are open to meeting up even if for no other reason than to join you on your dog walk & chat about that one community mural that you pass along the way and both love.
That's it.
No strings attached. No underlying, unspoken societal cues or relationship escalator. Just fun (and maybe even productive!) times through human connection on mutual terms when you need it, where you need it, how you need it.
Who said being #friendzoned was a bad thing?
Project at a glance
PROJECT ROLE(S)
One-Person Show
(UX Researcher, UX Designer, Project Manager, etc)
PROJECT TYPE
Capstone Project
M.p.S UX Design (@MICA)
DURATION
16 weeks
Jan - May 2023
DELIVERABLES
Prototype, Figma File, Slide Deck
See links below
People around the world experienced an increase in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, although small, could have implications for people’s long-term mental and physical health, longevity and well-being...
The Problem
Lack of opportunity for people to engage with others locally outside of work in platonic context effects us all, but no one more so than those who are marginalized, differently abled, and/or neurodiverse--
ie. those whose lived experiences differ from the stereotypical human experience, which is the basis for most the societal and technical advances that we enjoy today.
The Need
Of course, The Need is as complex as humans ourselves. That said,
3 main needs were identified.
01.
Accessibility
Contrary to mainstream understanding of "accessibility", concerns involve more than consideration and accommodation of physiological needs. Some examples include:
Physical: proximity, transportation, ramps, 1st floor restroom, seating, lighting, service animal accommodations
Mental: cognitive load, print size, atmosphere, noise levels,
Inclusivity: gender neutral bathrooms, alcohol-free, captioning, interpretation
02.
Safety
Safety concerns & needs vary greatly, but as with accessibility needs, they extend beyond the physical. Examples include:
Dietary restrictions
Public meeting locations
Age vetting
Account verification (see: Bumble)
Gender-free bathroom access
Racism, sexism, ablism, discrimination, *phobia
Data & location privacy
Respect of boundaries
03.
Connection
Given that constraints placed on interpersonal interactions by COVID further compounded pre-existing factors that already made seeking out new connections as an adult difficult, it's understandable that people had additional qualifiers/parameters for the context of those connections. Examples include:
Offline interaction
Mask & vaccine status
Meetings with common goal around shared interest
Zero strings attached; no alterior motive
No-advanced noticed, opportunistic way to meet others when time permits
Ability to engage with others without being the initiator
The Opportunities
(ie. The Hypothesis)
While there are numerous social platforms few exist in the unique space intersecting 1:1 offline, local interactions centering shared passion or interest in a hobby/activity. Among those that do, even fewer prioritize accessibility needs of patrons alongside visibility needs for local spaces/businesses who stand to benefit from hosting local meetings in their community.
Support local businesses
Empower underserved populations
Enable targeted Marketing
The Solution
Similarly, the solution space is also as complex as humans themselves. The following are but three of the main proposed solutions that #friendzoned will address.
01.
Access
Center the intersectional needs of queer, neurodivergent, and / or disabled folx by designing....
...for physical & mental accessibility.Features that facilitate sharing needs or considerations in profiles to circumnavigate stressful interactions
Autonated prompts to insure initiators are mindful of needs & boundaries
02.
Empowerment
Empowerment & safety go hand-in-hand as the ability to self-advocate is paramont to both.
Features allow users to tailor the app to their individual access & safety needsZero-tolerance COC: racism, sexism, ablism, discrimination, *phobia
Center the intersectional needs of queer, neurodivergent, and / or disabled folx by engaging them in the design process start to finish.
03.
Connection
Facilitate on-demand, on-location human connection based on shared interest and physical proximity.
1:1 or small group interactions with no pretense of long-term relationship goals.
AI-assisted chat assistance to help bolster confidence and minimize anxiety surrounding initiating or ending conversations.
Key Features
01.
Live maps, GPS, & custom filters
• Accessibility-forward search options
• Connect with people how you want, where you want, when you want.
02.
Uniquely Insightful
User Profiles
• Designed to empower users by facilitating self-advocacy
AI-Enabled Chat Assistant
03.
Never ghost/be ghosted or be anxious over how to start a conversation again!
See it in action.
The Design Process
Planning & Ideating
00
2-3 days
ClickUp + Pintrest + Mindmap + Canva + Pen & Paper
Pitch & Thoughtboard
Note: #friendzoned began life as "YH,NR (Yes Hello, No Romo)"
Simple, perhaps naive beginnings
#friendzoned began & remained as an unnamed project for most of the project, but as I needed something to refer to it as, I casually referred to it as "YH, NR" ("Yes Hello, No Romo") as a pointed jab at dating apps & not-so-quiet nod to the Aromantic & Asexual Communities for whom I envisioned the app servicing, among others.
Secondary Research
01
- DESK -
2-3 days
Google + FigJam + Mindmap + Pen & Paper
HMW Statements
Ahead of user interviews and in advance of having access to actual qualitative information, it's helpful to figure out which questions are the right questions to ask..
Analysis
03
1 week
Dovetail + Figjam
Methodology
Qualitativ (interview) data and quantative (desk research) data was synthesized & analysized using such methods as:
User Architypes
Based on user & desk research, the app's audience was divided into two overarching groups (architypes) with a 3rd added retroactively for users with families with unique needs:
-
The Local
-
The Traveler
-
The Parent
Fast-tracked
Iterations
Another consequence of the time-crunch that this project was under included designing components of a small-scale design system while simultaneously wireframing. The design system was prioritized as the foundation for all other design to come.
Wire-frames
04
1.5 weeks
Pen & Paper + Figma
Lo-Fi to Mid-Fi
Due to time constraints, lo-fi wireframes were the lowest of the "low" pencil sketches which were then quickly made into mid-to-hi wireframes in order to meet the rushed testing timeline. This was unfortunate as it made it especially difficult to do multiple rounds of testing & iteration prior to designing to higher fidelity...
Component Design
Another consequence of the time-crunch included taking a minimalistic, as-needed approach to designing components for the design system as wireframing & then prototyping ultimately occurred nearly simultaneously. The design system was prioritized as essential in order to move quickly from Low to Mid to Hi-Fi, but priorities don't always play well with deadlines...
Design & Prototype
05
3 ~ 4 weeks
Figma
Note: Expedited from scrappy wireframes to low-Mid then quickly to Med-Hi to meet the deadline
Mid-to-Hi
While the project started strong with 11 research participants, the large amount of preliminary data received combined with the limited timeline of the overall project resulted in a rushed (& ultimately superficial) analysis of the data before pivoting to Mid then Hi-Fi designs.
By the time I had a chance to user test again, I could only do so with an already Hi-ish fidelity prototype and 3 of my previous interviewees....
User Testing & Analysis
06
~1 week
Google Meet, FigJam
1:1 Observation
Due to a lack of time, I sat 1:1 with only 3 of my previous interviewees and asked them to verbally & visually walk me through how they would complete certain tasks in my semi-functional prototype.
The objective: To observe natural thought processes & potential pain points to improve upon the current design.
Figjam
As I only had a day to take what in what I'd learned from my observations & user feedback, I was unable to implement all but the simplest of changes into my prototype before the class presentation. That said, I did still document my findings in the form of Figjam post-its for quick recordkeeping & sorting for future analysis.
Presentation & Live Demo
The final challenge for this project involved a 10 min presentation of the app with a live walkthrough of the prototype demonstrating its main features.
Proto-type
07
• ~2 weeks (prototype)
• 1 week (presentation)
• Walkthrough presented during final capstone lesson
08
Eventual Next Steps
Test, Ideate, Prototype, Repeat
Due to the nature & timeline of the course that this project was created in, I wasn't able to refine the prototype & even the concept behind the app itself nearly as much as I would have liked. As I am personally (for better or worse) invested in the problems that this app seeks to address, its creation was never just an assignment for me... I would love to see it through to actual deployment. That said, a lot would need to happen before this app would be ready to pass off to a developer.
Next steps might include:
• Additional research & validation of business requirements for successful funding & development
• Additional research, ideation, and iteration to capture & translate user needs into functional requirements
• Multiple rounds of additional user testing to confirm user acceptance of solutions to functional requirements
Measuring Success
While this product has yet to be developed and launched, I anticipate that outcomes will be measurable as follows:
-
Steadily positive app store ratings & reviews indicative of user satisfaction with the app
-
Increasing user engagement measured by increasing session lengths as users successfully connect and engage with each other using the app
-
Upward-trending downloads and onboarding rates steadily maintained over a set length of time
-
Returning (active) users to registered accounts ratio
(Future) Outcomes
09
Key Learn-
ings
It's best not to go into a project..
...already having a sense of what you WANT to design, as was the case in this scenario. The research, design, etc will invariably be biased from the beginning to what you want/need and of course you are not the user when it comes to your own design.
I wish I had had more time to do discovery research.
Self-restraint is a key part of time management...
This may not be specific to this project, but it played a critical role in the domino effect of missed target dates for project milestones that I'd set for myself.
It's all too easy for me to lose time working on the aspects of the project that I am most passionate about only to short change myself on other equally or more critical tasks needed to meet a deadline.
Don't skip any part of the process...
...to try and make up for lost time. Anything skipped will come back to haunt you later.
Similarly, don't over or under estimate how long it will take you to do something just because you've done it before.
More data isn't always better...
It would have been better to interview fewer people in favor of leaving more time to analyze and ideate on the data that I received from those I did interview.
Better to interview 5 people have have 3 days to analyze that data than interview 11 and end up having only 1 day to analyize the increased data volume.