FLYR
An application to find events and new connections.
Duration: 4 weeks
Role: Product Design, User Research, Branding
Tools: Figma, Miro, Otter AI
PROBLEM
People are looking for ways to make lasting in-person connections with people who have shared values and interests.
This need exist in the context of what the Surgeon General of the United States called “our epidemic of loneliness and isolation” with “approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.” (2023)
SOLUTION
FLYR is a mobile app designed to bridge the gap between Zillennials and events in their communities that align with their interests and values. By centralizing digital event fliers in a user-friendly app, FLYR promotes opportunities to make in-person connections and foster meaningful relationships.
This contributes to strengthening community social infrastructure, aligning with the Surgeon General's recommendations for building healthier, more connected communities and combating the loneliness epidemic.
01. Research
SECONDARY RESEARCH
I began by conducting desk research to understand how people were discussing dating in contemporary media, academic research, and on social media. The majority of content that I reviewed touched on or focused entirely on online dating, which has become one of the most popular ways of making romantic connections in the United States.
Rooted in an understanding of hot topics around these platforms, I dove into a competitor analysis of some of the most popular dating platforms on the market: Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Grindr.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
To add additional context to my secondary research findings, I conducted five (5) user interviews with individuals between the ages of 24-29 that are a part of or a close ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.
I also conducted a survey which eleven (11) people in the LGBTQIA+ community between the ages of 18-31 completed.
KEY INSIGHTS
I synthesized the raw data from my interviews and user survey into an affinity map, allowing me to extract the following key insights.
THE NEW NORM Many users in this age group had formative dating experiences through dating apps, beginning in their late teens to early 20s. Users also reported that the majority of their dating experiences now take place on dating apps.
OVER THE APPS Users shared an overall negative sentiment towards dating apps, using terms such as "shallow" and "casual." Users described "endless options" on dating apps leading to appearance-driven selections.
MORE MEET-CUTES, PLEASE Users expressed a desire to connect with more romantic prospects in-person and nostalgia for a time when this was more common.
SHARED VALUES Users expressed a strong preference to connect with others that are values-aligned. They prioritized values above similarities in religion and culture.
OPEN TO FRIENDS & LOVERS 90% of users said they were open to relationships but were also open to a range of other connections including casual dating, casual hookups, friends with benefits, and platonic friendships.
PERSONA
Ahead of moving into my defining my product, I distilled these key insights into a persona that I could reference and empathize with throughout my design process.
02. Define
HOW MIGHT WE
The process of defining the product I would create, began with synthesizing my persona’s needs and goals into three thought-starter "How Might We?" questions:
A. How might we help users build healthier relationships?
B. How might we help users make more in-person connections?
C. How might we help users connect with people with similar values & interests?
IDEATION
I conducted a 30 minute sticky note brainstorm to generate ideas to solve for these user needs and goals. The strongest concept coming out of this brainstorm was a mobile application hosting digital event flyers. This application would connect zillennials to events in their communities (local bookstores, coffee shops, bars, parks, community centers, etc.) where they can create in-person connections with people who have shared values and interests.
STORYBOARDS
I explored how my persona might engage with this application through a storyboard. This helped me to ensure that I was meeting the needs and goals I had outlined for my persona.
FEATURE DEFINITION
With my product concept defined, I developed a list of features that would be included in the MVP of my mobile application:
EVENTS SUMMARY (HOMEPAGE) A summary of upcoming events in the local area grouped by users interests.
EVENTS FEED A newsfeed of event flyers with chronological content based on a user’s location and followed accounts. Users will be able to save flyers to receive future reminders.
EVENT CREATION Users will be able to upload pre-existing event fliers and then will be prompted to fill out a form with more information about their event to ensure accessibility.
PROFILES Individual users and organizations will both have profiles that users can follow each other to receive future posts in their feed.
USER FLOWS
I created user flows that explored how users would engage with all of the features I planned to include in my product.
LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
My user flows then guided which screens I would need to develop for my low-fidelity wireframes in Figma.
BRANDING
HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
Utilizing my branding elements, I evolved my greyscale screens into my high-fidelity wireframes and strung them together in Figma into an interactive prototype.
Users can discover a summary events aligned to their interested on the homepage of the application. From there, they are able to navigate to event detail pages to "RSVP" or learn more about the event organizer.
Users are also able to explore and search for events through the search screen, which offers options for filtering.
Users can complete a form and upload a flyer to create their own event.
Introducing users to FLYR and requesting their interests to help guide event recommendations.
Users can provide feedback on their event experiences to help guide future recommendations and feature developments.
04. Test & Finalize
USABILITY TESTING
With a prototype created for my high-fidelity wireframes, I tested the application with (3) three users aligned to my user persona. All three users were able to successfully complete the following user flows:
Create a profile
Find an event
Save an event
Navigate to event detail page (RSVP)
Navigate to another user’s profile page (Follow)
Navigate to their profile page
Provide feedback
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Check out the finalized FLYR prototype here →
CLOSING THOUGHTS
This project was a fascinating opportunity to build my skill-set as an end-to-end designer, from diving into robust user research to leveraging my learnings to build out an MVP mobile application rooted in the needs and goals of my persona.
I also enjoyed the experience of more closely examining how tech interfaces with our in-person interactions and can both help and hinder social and cultural development.
Next steps on this project would include, bringing the app to life through visual and haptic micro-interactions when buttons are tapped or filters are selected. I also see opportunity to build out additional user personas including one for business owners/event organizers, to support further building out the app’s feature offering.