An app for social travelers
Designing a new way to connect: From dates to mates
I was a UI/UX Intern (Jan 2020 - Dec 2020) at Swanned, a dating app for British, Irish, Australian, and New Zealand travelers. I played a key role in designing a new Group Meetup mode to expand the app beyond dating and support meaningful friendship-based connections. I created intuitive user flows, revamped the brand style guide, and designed interactive interfaces. I collaborated closely with Swanned's CEO, developer, and a team of 3 designers to ensure alignment across goals and implementation.
1) Research & Planning
Conducted competitive analysis to uncover gaps in the social connection space and led user interviews to understand pain points and behaviors around platonic connections. Defined personas based on user needs.
2) Ideation
Created user flows to combine user stories into one journey and identify any edge cases. Explored layout variations through rapid sketching.
3) Design & Prototyping
Collaborated with designers to create intuitive user interfaces and interactive prototypes.
4) Testing & Optimization
Gathered user feedback through testing and iteratively refined designs based on user feedback to enhance usability and visual appeal.
Positive User Feedback
High user satisfaction ratings and positive reviews highlight the app's intuitive interface and the ease of making instant, meaningful connections.
Growing User Base
After the introduction of the Group Meetup feature, the app has seen stead growth in user adoption and engagement with over 200,000 matches and 1 million messages exchanged in 2024.
Positive Stakeholder Feedback
"Valerie was a pleasure to work with during Springboard's Industry Design Project where she worked on the UX of my app Swanned. She worked on designing a new group meetup mode in the app which has turned out amazingly. Her Competitive Research Analysis was very thorough and excellently presented. She took on feedback from all user testing and adapted the designs accordingly. She has a great knowledge of how to solve problems through design. I absolutely love what Valerie and the team achieved in such a short space of time."
Competitive Analysis
Through research, we realized competitiors could be grouped into 2 groups: products that are meants to create online connections such as Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble and products that encourage real-life connections such as Meetups and Groupon.
We realized, however, there wasn't a platform that focused on both. How might we translate these missed opportunities into design opportunities?
User Interviews
We chose 5 users and conducted in-depth interviews with each of them. We learned that all users were seeking friendship or romantic connections, or both, depending on their life stage. Previous dating and social app experiences only led to shallow relationships, and users struggled to find time for plans during busy schedules.
Personas
Meet Sara and Sam. These personas represent our key research insights and insights provided by our client about their current user database.
User Flow
After finalizing our personas, we mapped a user flow that connected their goals into a seamless journey, accounting for different user types and potential edge cases.
Design System: Colors
Next, I focused on redesigning Swanned's color palette by evolving their original brand deep red into a warmer red-orange palette with other vibrant colors to introduce a more friendly and inviting mood. Using ADA accessibility standards, I introduced semantic color for success and error states, ensuring a more inclusive and user-friendly experience.
Design System: Typography & Components
I selected a single typeface for Swanned's Group feature to ensure clarity and consistency across the interface. By organizing a clear hierarchy for headers and body text, I established a strong typographic foundation that supported a cohesive and readable user experience.
I also played a pivotal role in creating and refining Swanned's components, including buttons and icons, to ensure a pixel-perfect user interface.
Mid Fidelity & Testing
