Overview
Try the prototype
Hobbud is an innovative mobile app designed to enhance social connections by linking users with individuals who share similar hobbies and interests. The platform allows users to discover and connect with like-minded people in their area, facilitating new friendships and enriching social interactions.
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App Features:
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Connect with Like-Minded People: Users can easily find and connect with others who share common interests and hobbies, making it simple to form meaningful friendships.
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Personalized Recommendations: Users input their interests and preferences to receive tailored suggestions for local events, meetups, and activities that align with their hobbies.
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User-Friendly Interface: Create profiles, join groups, and participate in discussions related to personal interests.
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Purpose:
The aim is to foster community engagement and encourage personal growth and enjoyment by leveraging advanced algorithms to match users based on shared hobbies, interests and their location. This dual functionality ensures a personalized and dynamic experience, making it easier for people to forge meaningful connections and participate in enriching activities.
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Team: 2 members
Duration: 8 weeks
My Role: User Research, UX Design & Design Systems, Prototyping
My Tools: Figma
Research
User Persona
Meet Henry, he wants expand his social circle, pursue his hobbies, and integrate better into his new community.
Problem statement
Henry, a working professional
(User persona)
needs
an easy and effective way to discover social opportunities and find common interests
(User needs)
because
he struggles to find people that share similar hobbies or interests and is unaware about the events happening near him
(Insights)
Ideation
How might we...
We identified problems and framed them as opportunities to help us move forward towards our solution. We wrote large amount of HMW's and voted to narrow down the ones most important.
How might we help users like Henry discover and connect with people who share their specific hobbies and interests in their local area?
How might we implement a personalized recommendation system for local events and meetups that align with users' hobbies?
How might we help users like Henry integrate into a new community through shared interests and activities?
How might we design the app to help Henry gradually expand his social circle without feeling overwhelmed?
How might we create features that allow Henry to host small gatherings or workshops related to his baking skills?
Assumption mapping
We carefully considered our assumptions, prioritizing the most critical one for testing by mapping them according to risk and the clarity of their potential outcomes.
Hypothesis statement
Based off our most important assumption, we curated the hypothesis and sub-hypothesis to test through our prototype.
We believe that
providing users with a platform to connect with others who share their hobbies and interests will increase their social interactions and community engagement.
Action
We will know this to be true
if users report a higher number of new social connections and increased participation in local events after using the app.
Outcome
Sub-hypothesis statement
We believe that
allowing users to view the events their friends are attending will encourage them to participate in more activities.
Action
We will know this to be true
if there is an increase in event attendance rates among users who actively check their friends' profiles.
Outcome
Design
Design systems
I created and maintained a custom design system, inspired by Material 3 to ensure consistency across the app. It includes a focused color palette, typography, button styles, and bespoke icons reflecting the app's hobby-centric theme. This tailored system streamlines UI decisions and maintains a cohesive user experience throughout the platform.
High fidelity
I created and maintained a custom design system, inspired by Material 3 to ensure consistency across the app. It includes a focused color palette, typography, button styles, and bespoke icons reflecting the app's hobby-centric theme. This tailored system streamlines UI decisions and maintains a cohesive user experience throughout the platform.
Let's breakdown the process & features
Onboarding
We identified problems and framed them as opportunities to help us move forward towards our solution. We wrote large amount of HMW's and voted to narrow down the ones most important.
Social activity feed
We decided to display friends' events on user profiles and in chat to encourage users like Henry to attend activities with buddies and make new connections. This feature promotes exploration of shared hobbies and enhances event credibility by showcasing participants. By highlighting friends' activities, the app fosters community and motivates social interactions that enrich users' lives.
User profiles
In-chat integration
Insights
What worked well
• Developing a comprehensive design system inspired by established guidelines enhanced consistency across the app.
• Implementing an onboarding process that efficiently gathers user information improved personalization.
• Integrating event visibility in user profiles and chats effectively encouraged social interactions.
What didn't work
• We underestimated the complexity of matching users based on multiple factors (hobbies, location, age), which led to some initial performance issues.
• The initial color palette was too vibrant, causing some usability concerns.
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What's Next?
• Refine the event recommendation algorithm to better match users' preferences and availability.
• Implement a feature for users to create and host their own events, fostering community engagement.
• Explore the possibility of integrating local business partnerships to expand the range of available activities and events
Wondering what other design riddles I've solved?
