My Role
UI/UX design, user testing,
market research
Skills / Tools
Figma, Wireframing, Prototyping, Video editing
Duration
12 weeks, Spring 2024
Team
Solo project
Overview
Improve wellness for young adults by facilitating & encouraging new activities, social connections, and a sense of community.
How can I leverage technology and gamification to make in-person socializing accessible, easy, and fun?
Research
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
Loneliness was declared an epidemic in 2023 by the U.S. Surgeon General
For the first time in 12 years, the United States is not within the "Top 20 Happiest Countries" list — World Happiness Report, 2024
Lacking social connection can increase the risk of premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day — U.S. Surgeon General, 2023
Of 330 million Americans, 49% report having 3 or fewer close friends — U.S. Surgeon General, 2021
Americans spend approximately 23% of each month alone (that's 3 full months each year) — U.S. Surgeon General, 2021
SURVEY RESULTS
I surveyed 25 adults between ages 22-25. Questions aimed to discover:
What activities do they do in their free time?
What does their ideal life look like?
How confident are they in making new friends as an adult?
All responders:
Primarily use social media & tv in their free time
Wish their lives had more variety & socializing day-to-day
80% of respondents expressed feeling nervous/unsure of themselves in regard to forming new friendships.
Only 1 person expressed confidence in making friends as an adult
Notable Quotes
"I want to [make new friends] but it's hard to connect and find real people." - anonymous
"When the opportunity presents itself, I'm confident. But it's so hard to find situations to meet people." - anonymous
MARKET OPPORTUNITY
Current apps on the market attempt to tackle the human need for connection through shared experiences, but fail to provide a large variety of events geared specifically towards socializing with people that users would have previously never met.
USER PERSONAS
Sarah, 23
Recent college grad
Moved away for a job
All her besties live in different places
Current social life = her roommates
Doesn’t want to just live for the weekend
Thomas, 27
Tired of his routine
Works from home and only really hangs out with his significant other
The coffee shop down the street knows him by name
Social media timeline is filled with weddings and babies
Design
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
After graduating college, people often find themselves separated from their closest friends for the first time. It can be easy to enter a cycle of “living for the weekend” where work and sleep become the primary activities during weekdays. Viva aims to break this cycle and introduce easy ways to explore the city, meet new people, and try new things.
EARLY WIREFRAMING
USER FLOWS
ITERATIONS
FINAL DESIGNS
Home
Search for events
Explore personalized suggestions
Easily see your upcoming events & details
Add friends
Quickly add friends from the Home tab
Scan user QR codes
Search by usernames
Manage friends from Account tab
Search
Scroll through listed events
Explore the map
Filter events by interests, duration, price, time of day, etc.
Event details
Read important event info
View & add pictures from the event
Explore the map
Invite friends to sign up
Profile
View achievements, challenges, & badges
Keep track of past events
Host events
Takeaways
Set artificial hard deadlines for yourself!
I had so many more ideas for this project (virtual world building, achievement-based customization, exploring the check-in process as a user and as a host, etc) that I had to limit due to the time constraints of the project.
